6 min readChennaiSep 10, 2026 04:53 PM IST
As East Zone wrapped up the formalities in the Duleep Trophy final at tea on Day 5 afternoon against South Zone, Mohammed Shami broke away from the celebrations. The national selectors might see him as a surplus, but over the five days, the fans at the stadium reserved their biggest cheers for Shami, making him feel wanted. It didn’t matter whether he fielded or bowled, they were behind Shami. He obliged them every day, spending nearly 10 minutes obliging for autographs and selfies.
In the middle, he delivered the Duleep Trophy to the East Zone for the first time since 2012. The national selectors, including chairman Ajit Agarkar, watched him from the stands, conjuring magic with the new and old ball, seamlessly transferring from conventional swing to reverse swing in the most testing conditions. As he lined up to face the media, he put in a polite request: not to put forward any questions about getting a call up to the Indian team. “My job is simply to put in the hard work—the rest is in the hands of Allah,” he said, pointing his hands upwards. It looks as if only a divine intervention would put him back into the Indian dressing room.
For, on the field Shami has ticked all the boxes. From bowling long spells to getting wickets on unresponsive pitches to making the ball talk in seamer friendly conditions, he has done it all. At a time when all the doors to a national recall are shutting down, he bowled his heart out in the heat and humidity of Chennai.
A call-up is nowhere in sight, but the 36-year-old isn’t giving up. “There are plenty of reasons to stay motivated if you look for them. You can draw positivity from this ground or any ground you step onto. At this level, if you aren’t self-motivated, your approach is wrong. No matter what stage you’re playing at, your eyes must always be set on the next level,” he said.
East Zone’s Mohammed Shami takes a selfie with teammates after winning the Duleep Trophy 2026-27, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (PTI)
Maybe here, Shami had the drive to deliver East Zone a title that has eluded them for long. The Duleep Trophy’s relevance has been in question for long, but even with regards to it, Shami sent a message across. “I always say this: ‘You play for the badge’. When you wear that crest on your chest, the level of cricket doesn’t matter. If you play for the badge, that hunger will naturally show. Your willingness to fight only grows when you play with that pride. My mindset is simple: whichever level I get an opportunity to play, I want to make it count and fulfil my responsibility toward the team,” he added, pointing to the crest.
Always a learner
Thanks to the splendid job of their batting unit, Shami had the chance to bowl only once here, and even there, he made it count. After troubling the South with the new-ball, with the old ball he relied on reverse-swing. While other pacers from both the sides struggled to hit the right lengths, Shami was an exception. “I’m always learning. In conditions like these, you can’t expect much conventional swing, and the bounce was quite low. In Bengaluru, conditions favoured the bowlers far more, so coming here was a stark contrast. But that doesn’t mean you stray from your basics. I trust my line and length completely, and that’s where I try to create wickets from. Honestly, if you can’t exploit reverse swing in this kind of heat, what’s the point?” he said, matter of factly.
Perhaps it comes naturally to Shami—what doesn’t come for others. Maybe for someone in the November of his career, the pitch offered him a challenge to rise to the occasion. “It turns into a completely different tactical battle. When conditions are in your favour, executing plans is straightforward. The real test is when conditions don’t suit you — that’s when delivering for your team matters most. That’s when your skill is tested in its purest form. Whenever challenging situations arise, I want to put my hand up and deliver for the side,” he added.
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East Zone’s captain Ishan Kishan, right, and Mohammed Shami pose with the trophy after winning the Duleep Trophy 2026-27, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (PTI)
Shami had only two wickets to show in the final, but both were made by the seamer by relying on his exceptional skillset. Bowling with a semi-old ball on Day Three afternoon, he generated reverse-swing that left South batsmen clueless. The wicket of Shaik Rasheed was a classic example of how to lay a trap. “Test cricket is entirely a game of setups. If top-order batters are set, you cannot get them out without a plan. Wickets don’t just happen out of nowhere, especially on tracks like this. The plan was to keep taking the ball away from him, build that expectation, and then bring one back in sharply to trap him. That’s precisely how it unfolded,” he said.
Along the way Shami appeared to have fun as well. At one stage with Ishan Kishan taking a break, it was the 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi who captained him. When he dismissed Rasheed, he even had to piggyback the teenager. “He loves pulling my leg! I usually tease him back by saying he isn’t even as old as my cricket career. But he constantly banters with me, and that’s great to see. Most of these youngsters are already quite mature. With the level of cricket they play today — featuring in the IPL and other high-pressure tournaments—maturity comes early, so you don’t need to over-coach them. But yes, when the game gets tight and challenging, that’s when you step in with tactical inputs and remind them to keep fighting,” he added.