Why wasn’t Mohammed Shami considered for the Afghanistan Test? Chief selector Ajit Agarkar reveals

NEW DELHI: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chairman Ajit Agarkar on Tuesday said there were no discussions about Mohammed Shami’s return to Test cricket, adding that the pacer is currently only “ready for T20 cricket” despite playing the entire domestic season.The comments came after the BCCI announced the Indian squads for the one-off Test and three-match ODI series against the Afghanistan men’s cricket team to be played in India in June. Shami was not included in either team. “No (discussion of Shami’s Test return). If we were told that at the moment… his body allows him (to play), I know he has played the domestic season this year. But the information I have is that at the moment it is T20 cricket that he is kind of ready for. So there was no discussion about him,” Agarkar said while talking to reporters.The 35-year-old has been out of the national set-up for more than a year, despite returning to competitive cricket and enjoying a productive domestic season with Bengal, taking 67 wickets.Shami last played for India during the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 campaign. His last ODI appearance came against New Zealand in the CT final in Dubai, which India won.His last Test appearance for India came against Australia in the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) at The Oval in 2023. In T20Is, his last match for India was against England in Mumbai earlier in 2025.In the Ranji Trophy semi-final in February, Shami returned figures of 9 for 114 against Jammu & Kashmir, although Bengal ended up on the losing side.In the ongoing IPL 2026 season, Shami started well but failed to maintain consistency. He has conceded 10 goals in 12 matches so far.Meanwhile, Shubman Gill will lead the Indian Test team for the match in Afghanistan, with KL Rahul replacing Rishabh Pant as vice-captain. Senior all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was rested for the Test, while Manav Suthar, Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey earned places in the squad.Indian Test Team: Shubman Gill (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (vice-captain), Sai Sudharsan, Rishabh Pant, Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Manav Suthar, Gurnoor Dubeyv, Harsh D. Jurel.