After Cheteshwar Pujara, Mohammed Shami Reveals His Retirement Plans
Mohammed Shami shuts down retirement talks with a fiery response, says he will keep playing as long as he enjoys cricket, and reveals his one remaining dream, winning the ODI World Cup.
India pacer Mohammed Shami has issued a blunt response to speculation over his retirement, making it clear that he alone will decide when the time comes.
Left out of India’s recent Test series against England and also missing from the Asia Cup 2025 T20I squad, the 34-year-old has faced questions over his future. But Shami insists he is far from finished.
In a strong message, Shami told News24:
“If someone has a problem, tell me, if it is like their lives become better if I take retirement. Tell me whose life have I become a rock in that you want me to retire? The day I get bored, I will leave. You don’t pick me, but I will keep working hard. You don’t pick me in international, I will play domestic. I will keep playing somewhere or the other.”
Shami, who last played for India in the Champions Trophy earlier this year, endured a difficult IPL season that further dimmed his chances of a T20I recall.
With Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravichandran Ashwin recently retiring, and Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma stepping away from Tests and T20Is, the pacer too found his future under scrutiny.
However, Shami stressed that his hunger to play remains intact. He added that his biggest unfinished dream is to win the ODI World Cup.
“I only have one dream left, that is to win the ODI World Cup. I want to be a part of that team and perform that wins the World Cup and brings it home. We were very close in 2023 but maybe it was not in my luck.”
