The BCCI faced a massive backlash on social media as fans slammed the cricket board’s tribute to Indian pacer Mohammed Shami, who announced his retirement from Test cricket on Friday.
One of India’s greatest fast bowlers of all time, Shami has not found a place in the Indian team despite his consistent performances in red-ball domestic cricket for Bengal since returning from a long injury layoff.
His last appearance for India came in Dubai when he played the final of the ICC Champions Trophy, a premier one-day tournament, on March 9, 2025.
Shami was the joint second-highest wicket-taker of the tournament with nine scalps from five matches, playing a key role in India’s triumph.
The performance in Dubai was a testament to the never-say-die spirit of a bowler who had just returned from a serious injury crisis.
Battling an ankle injury in the 2023 ICC World Cup, Shami managed the pain with injections and delivered incredible spells to become the highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 24 wickets from just seven matches at an astonishing average of 10.70.
His magnificent effort played a big role in India reaching the final, which they lost to Australia.
But the player who gave every ounce of his energy to the Indian team was strangely overlooked by selectors after his successful comeback in the Champions Trophy.
Despite the setback, Shami didn’t give up hope of playing for his country again as he continued to play for Bengal in domestic cricket as well as the Indian Premier League (IPL).
A return to the Indian team, though, has become an impossible mission for the veteran bowler.
On Friday, the 36-year-old Shami announced his retirement from Test cricket on social media, while confirming that he would continue to play white-ball cricket, keeping the door open for a return to India’s limited-overs team.
This was an incredibly sad end to the wonderful Test career of a man who emerged from a small village in Uttar Pradesh, Sahaspur, to become a giant in the five-day game, taking 229 wickets from 64 matches at a highly impressive average of 27.71.
A formidable partner for bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah for a long time, Shami was a genuine match-winner in Test cricket and the architect of many a famous win across the world.
Avalanche of angry reactions
While a host of former players and commentators hailed Shami as one of India’s fast-bowling greats after his Test retirement, the BCCI’s tribute to him has backfired as fans used the comments section of the same post to ridicule the world’s most powerful cricket board.
“Thank you for defining an era of Indian pace bowling, Test Cap #279 🇮🇳 Drop in your favourite @MdShami11 memory in whites,” the BCCI wrote on X.
But fans, instead of dropping in their favourite moments, grabbed the opportunity with both hands to launch a stunning attack on the cricket board.
“Shame on you for dropping him despite consistent performances. He is as good as Bumrah in taking wickets,” one fan wrote.
Some other fans slammed Indian coach Gautam Gambhir and former chairman of selectors, Ajit Agarkar, accusing them of deliberately ignoring Shami’s consistent performances in domestic cricket.
“A very big thank You to the great. @GautamGambhir and @imAagarkar for finishing Shami career. Politics ruined a great career,” a fan wrote.
One fan even demanded an apology from the BCCI.
“Don’t thank him, instead, you must say sorry to him for ruining his career,” the fan said.
Another fan termed the BCCI’s post shameful, reminding everyone how Shami played a big role in the turnaround of India’s fortunes in Test cricket.
“There’s no need for you to thank Shami; you guys were right all along—back in the day, winning just a single Test match abroad used to trigger celebrations as if the entire series had been won. You forced our country’s best bowler to retire, shame on you,” the fan wrote.
The avalanche of angry reactions that has hit the BCCI on X is an incredible mix of anger, frustration and some good cricket analysis.
“Your dirty selection tactics cut short his career. He would have easily gone past 300 Test wickets. Much better bowler at the fag end as compared to your so-called young & fresh bowlers,” one fan wrote.
Superb form in domestic cricket
Fans have genuine reasons to be angry. After all, Shami delivered a phenomenal performance in the Ranji Trophy last season for Bengal, taking 37 wickets from just seven matches at an incredible average of 16.72.
Despite proving his form and fitness, Shami never remained in contention for a comeback in international cricket.
The irony was not lost on Nikhil Naz, a prominent Indian cricket journalist and author.
“Three years of trying to make a return to the Indian test team seems to have finally taken a toll on Md Shami as he bids farewell to red ball cricket,” Naz wrote on X.
“But for a man who came to be known as second innings Shami— for his ability to run through teams in the 2nd innings— just wish Indian cricket had given him a second chance.”
There was also a tinge of sadness in former India head coach Ravi Shastri, under whom Shami delivered some of his finest performances in international cricket, when Khaleej Times asked him about the fast bowler.
“It is sad. I was asked, and I said he should have been in the (Indian) side, simple. He’s among the top three or four (fast bowlers) who have played for India. No question,” Shastri told Khaleej Times during his recent visit to Dubai.
For a bowler who always ran in with great intensity to deliver outstanding spells of fast bowling, Shami deserved to be celebrated as one of India’s greatest warriors.
A standard social media post from the BCCI can never do justice to a cricketer of his stature. Such posts only look insincere at a time when he bid farewell to the long format with a heavy heart.
The failure to get any convincing explanation from the selectors and the team management for ignoring him killed the spirit of a man who took painkillers to deliver a series of match-winning spells for India on lifeless wickets in a World Cup.
Source: Khaleej Times