Former Indian cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra has reckoned that the selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, made its point clear in terms of the discarded veteran pacers Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra asserted that it’s almost over for the veteran pacers despite the duo giving their best in domestic cricket. Interestingly, the duo couldn’t make it to any of the recent squads, including the Rest of India (ROI).
“In all of this, there is no mention of Mohammad Shami anywhere. I think this was an important selection. There is a lot of overlapping happening, you are trying out a lot of new players. There is no Mohammad Shami and no Bhuvneshwar Kumar, so I think the writing is on the wall. When you look at it from Shami and Bhuvi’s point of view, I think this was a very important selection. You could have thought about Bhuvi for T20s and Shami for ODIs, but you are not thinking about it,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
Further, Chopra advised both pacers to move on and make peace, as there have been a lot of new names cropping up for the national selection, including Auqib Nabi, Mayank Yadav, and Prince Yadav.
“When there are names like Auqib Nabi, Mayank Yadav, and Prince Yadav, and no Bhuvi or Shami, I think it tells us something. I think this is something that we should accept and realise that this is where we are. Make peace with it and keep moving on, that is what I think,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar last played their final international matches for India on March 9, 2025, and November 22, 2022.
