Mohammed Shami and Shreyas Iyer: After over 20 months, Rishabh Pant finally returned to the Test team as the BCCI revealed India’s 16-man squad for the opening match of the two-Test series against Bangladesh, which is scheduled to start on September 19. After missing the home five-Test series against England earlier this year due to a leave of absence for the birth of his second kid, Virat Kohli also made his comeback.
Being the initial time in the T20 World Cup in 2010, Jasprit Bumrah has also rejoined to the Indian team. While there were certainly not many major surprises, here were a few noticeable omissions. Mohammed Shami and Shreyas Iyer, two players who both just recently avoided form red-ball play, are nevertheless not included on the squad. While Shami has begun a comeback after nursing an injury during the one-day international tournament last year. Iyer has a more complex case.
Considering that Iyer returned to the Indian ODI team and scored a solid half-century during the Duleep Tournament match for India D, some may be disappointed by his removal from the Test squad. But the decision seems to have been driven by both his tumultuous year in 2024 and his patchy showing in red-ball cricket.
The young batsman, who had been steadily improving over the previous several years in Indian cricket, suffered a severe injury earlier this year during the two-match Test series against England. Afterwards, because of his apparent lack of accessibility for Maharashtra in the Ranji Trophy, he got kicked off of BCCI’s central contract.
Why Mohammed Shami and Shreyas Iyer were left off of India’s squad:
Iyer’s red-ball skills have definitely suffered despite an impressive return in which he led Kolkata Knight Riders to IPL success and Mumbai to a crown. His recent longer format performances have been lackluster, especially in the Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament, when he was unable to leave a lasting impression.
He could only generate nine runs in the first inning of the Duleep Trophy, illustrating his persistent troubles. Even though he did reach fifty runs in the second innings, the selectors’ decision to pass on him for the next Test series was probably influenced by his inconsistent performance in the lengthier format.
The tough rivalry for middle-order berths in the Indian Test team is making Iyer’s problems worse. Iyer is now lower on the list due to the rise of Sarfaraz Khan, who impressed with his aggressive batting during his maiden series against England earlier this year, and KL Rahul, who has been a regular in the Test team with consistent performances.
Shami is making a reappearance
A few weeks back, Mohammed Shami’s likely return for the forthcoming Test series against Bangladesh was alluded to the BCCI top selector Ajit Agarkar. Shami’s rehabilitation is still ongoing, though, and in the end, he was left out of the Test team.
According to a PTI article from last month, Shami is anticipated to resume playing competitive cricket in October following the Bangladesh series. But his reappearance will not be among Indian whites. Shami will instead represent Bengal in the Ranji Trophy, which begins on October 11, before he becomes eligible for selection for the national team.
Shami might also miss the first Test in the ensuing three-match series against New Zealand, according to rumors.
