Injuries stole his rhythm, and the selectors then stopped waiting for it to return. After June 2023, the ankle gave way, the knee followed, and India built a pace group around younger names. The announcement on 6 November 2026 only confirmed what team sheets had shown for over three years. Two separate fitness problems and a steady flow of younger fast bowlers explain why the farewell surprised few. Bumrah and Siraj carried the new ball while he rehabbed, and each series made the gap harder to close.
A Kolkata Debut to Remember
Eden Gardens gave Shami his Test debut on 6 November 2013, and he marked it by taking nine West Indies wickets, an Indian pacer’s best on debut. The rise that followed was quick, with 100 Test wickets arriving in only 29 matches.
His tally ended at 229 wickets from 64 matches at 27.71, including a best of 6/56 and half a dozen innings with five or more scalps. Those numbers carry even more weight when measured overseas. On the 2021-22 tour of South Africa, he collected 14 wickets across three games, proof that his skill travelled when conditions asked the hardest questions.
Mohammed Shami Test retirement WTC 2023 final
The Australia clash that settled the 2023 World Test Championship crown opened on 7 June 2023, and it turned out to be his last red-ball appearance for India. Series after series have since gone ahead without him, first because of injury and then because of selection, as the table below shows.
The BCCI stated on 23 December 2024 that the knee required further recovery before he could handle controlled bowling loads. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar said in May 2025 that Shami’s workload sat short of the required level, and a year later he named T20 cricket as the format Shami was ready for. Even 15 wickets at 15.53 for Bengal early in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy could not shift that view.
Series | Shami status | Pace group |
|---|---|---|
South Africa away 2023-24 | Ankle injury | Bumrah, Siraj |
England home 2024 | Ankle recovery | Bumrah, Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan |
Australia away 2024-25 | Knee needed time | Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna |
England away 2025 | Setback, workload doubts | Siraj, Bumrah, Akash Deep, Prasidh, Kamboj |
South Africa home 2025 | Not picked | Bumrah, Siraj, Akash Deep |
Afghanistan home 2026 | Not considered | Siraj, Prasidh Krishna |
New Zealand away 2026 | Missing from three squads | Bumrah, Siraj, Prasidh, Akash Deep, Kamboj |
The Bowlers Who Filled the Gap
Leadership of the attack passed to Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. England in 2025 showed the split sharply, with Siraj claiming 23 wickets in five matches while Bumrah took 14 in three, because India managed his workload carefully.
Others pushed through as well. At Edgbaston, Akash Deep returned 6/99; at The Oval, Prasidh Krishna took 4/62; and Anshul Kamboj made his debut at Old Trafford. When the series in New Zealand begins on 19 November, the selectors will rely on that group, plus Bumrah and Siraj.
Averages That Show the Slide
Shami peaked in 2019, when 33 wickets came at 16.66. Injury then trimmed the next year to only five scalps at 44.80, and a rebound followed in 2021 with 23 at 22.47. After that the average drifted upward, reaching 31.92 in 2023 after a mark of 34.46 the year before.
The strike rate told the same tale, slowing from a wicket every 43.4 balls in 2021 to one every 63.6 in 2022, even though his economy hovered around three an over. Home and away also split sharply, with 76 wickets at 22.11 in India against 153 at 30.50 abroad.
Life After the White Jersey
Shami posted the news on X, saying he was leaving the white jersey and thanking the format that made him. In May 2025, he had called retirement reports the day’s worst story, which makes the turn notable. No BCCI statement turned up in the sources checked. That silence leaves the official side of the story unfinished.
The Mohammed Shami Test retirement WTC 2023 final link is hard to miss, since that match was the last time India picked him in whites. His white-ball path is unsettled. The last ODI he played was the Champions Trophy final in March 2025, and the three squads picked for the ongoing trip to New Zealand omitted him.
Did the selectors treat Shami fairly, or did he deserve a clear farewell Test? Tell us in the comments.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
When did Shami retire from Test cricket?
The decision came late on 6 November 2026 in a post on X. That came over three years after he last played a Test, so the exit had been building for a long while.
How many Test wickets did Shami take for India?
His tally ended at 229 wickets in 64 matches. The average was 27.71, backed by a best of 6/56 in an innings and half a dozen big hauls.
What was Shami’s last Test match?
His final Test was the 2023 World Test Championship decider against Australia. It began on 7 June that year, and India have selected squads without him in every series since.
Will Shami still play white-ball cricket for India?
His announcement covers Tests only, so a white-ball return is not ruled out. Nothing about a comeback is settled, and he has not turned out for India since the Champions Trophy in March 2025.
Which fast bowlers is India relying on in Tests now?
Bumrah and Siraj lead the group, with Kamboj, Akash Deep and Prasidh Krishna behind them. All five were picked for the Test series in New Zealand that starts on 19 November.