“Selectors have moved on” - Ravi Ashwin feels Indian veteran player’s international career is all but over

Former Indian spinner and analyst Ravi Ashwin has stated that the Indian selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, has moved from the veteran pacer Mohammed Shami, who failed to make it to the Indian squads across formats in recent times.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin asserted that he wasn’t surprised to see Shami missing out on the squad for the upcoming New Zealand ODI series, adding that his international career is all but over.

"Shami's exclusion was expected. There is no surprise in that. Virat or Rohit, Shami, the difference between them, the point is, when one-day cricket was not going on, they were still playing Tests or T20s. Shami went out due to injury. People will not agree with this from outside. A way of looking at a batter and bowler becomes different then. For a bowler, if you look at the run-up speed, rhythm, is it the same quality as international cricket you once saw, Shami's case is of optics. Do the selectors believe he can get to the 2027 World Cup? There is a huge difference in the workload of a batter and a fast bowler," Ravi Ashwin said on 'Ash ki Baat'.

"If I were Shami, I would still feel he is unlucky. But the selectors have continuously given us a story over the last six months that they do not have a doubt about Shami's quality or game, but they have moved on. It is very evident. I did not think he was going to make it, and it was not surprising. They might not be looking at him for the future," he added.

"Siraj's coming back was well deserved. India would know they need experience for the 2027 World Cup. Sure, Arshdeep is there, Harshit is there, Prasidh is there. But we cannot take these three together. We need Bumrah and with him, we have Siraj's experience. I am very happy for him, and I think it is a decision in the right direction," he said.

India’s ODI squad for the New Zealand series:

Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Shreyas Iyer (vc)*, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, and Yashasvi Jaiswal. 

*subject to fitness clearance.

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