Former Indian batter Suresh Raina has said that discarded Indian pacer Mohammed Shami will also make his national comeback after veteran seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar returned for the forthcoming New Zealand tour.
While Bhuvneshwar last played for India in a T20I in New Zealand in November 2022, Shami’s last international game came in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 against New Zealand. However, Bhuvi is set for a comeback after a four-year gap.
Speaking at the jersey launch of the Indian Softball Cricket League, Raina acknowledged Bhuvneshwar’s hard work and strongly supported Shami to make his national comeback very soon.
“Making it to the Indian team at the age of 36 shows character. He has been a very disciplined bowler and a very process-driven guy who has worked really hard on his body. I hope when they go to New Zealand, he will do very well; my best wishes are with him. Absolutely, I think he (Mohammed Shami) has done well and played good domestic cricket too. Now it’s Bhuvi’s turn, aur Shami bhi aa rahe hai piche piche, tension mat lijiye (Shami is also right behind him, so don’t worry). I hope the selectors give him an opportunity; he is doing really well,” Raina said on the jersey launch of the Indian Softball Cricket League.
Further, Raina expressed his views on the teen batting prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi not getting enough chances in the Indian T20I Playing XI. He stated that a lot of players are doing pretty well, leaving no room for the teen batter to make it to the XI.
“Sanju has scored runs now, we lost the game, but cricket has become so innovative now. Even Abhishek is batting well, Shubman Gill is in a different form altogether. Rohit and Virat are also playing well in ODIs, so I think we are lucky that we have a lot of coaches now, and we have a lot of players who play fearless cricket. They are playing fantastically well while handling the pressure,” Raina stated.
