Mohammed Shami Ahmed (; born 3 September 1990) is an Indian international cricketer who plays as a right-arm fast-bowler for the India national cricket team, for the Bengal cricket team in domestic cricket, and for the Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League. He also plays for Mohun Bagan in domestic competitions of West Bengal.
One of the most consistent wicket takers in contemporary world cricket, Shami bowls the ball off the seam and uses swing, including reverse swing, to move the ball both directions. He has been reputed to have an edge in the death overs of a limited-overs innings and, in all formats, has been described as being at times "unplayable". Shami finished as the tournament's leading wicket taker in the ICC World Cup 2023, and was also the fastest bowler to take 50 wickets in the 48-year history of the Cricket World Cup, spanning 13 editions. He is the recipient of the 2023 Arjuna Award for Cricket. Having taken 7 wickets for 57 runs against New Zealand in the 2023 Cricket World Cup semi-final, he holds the record for the best figures for an Indian Bowler in ODIs and is currently the only Indian bowler to have taken 7 wickets in an ODI innings. Shami was a member of the Indian team that won the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
Early life and career Shami grew up in the village of Sahaspur in Amroha, Uttar Pradesh, one of five children.Laha, Somshuvra (2013) Farmer's son Mohammad Shami swings it for team India , Hindustan Times, 24 October 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2015. (Archived version retrieved 30 October 2021.)Power play: Even cuts can't deny Shami's Sahaspur village, The Times of India, 19 March 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2021. His father, Tauseef Ali was a farmer who had been a fast bowler in his youth.Banerjee, Sandipan (2014) Mohammed Shami: An incredible journey from Sahaspur to the Indian dressing room , Cricket Country, 16 October 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2021. When Shami was 15 he was taken to Badruddin Siddique, a cricket coach in Moradabad, a town from his home.
Shami worked hard on his technique throughout his time at Moradabad; after matches, he would request the used balls so that he could develop the ability to reverse swing the older ball, a skill that would be integral to his success later in his career.Hunter N (2013) Shami's swing the revelation , ESPNcricinfo, 6 November 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2021.Shami's reverse-swing a honed art – coach , ESPNcricinfo, 6 November 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2013.Monga, Sidharth (2013) Shami's rise from small-time club to country , ESPNcricinfo, 9 November 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2015 He was not, however, selected for the Uttar Pradesh under-19 team, and later in 2005 Badruddin sent him to Kolkata to increase his chances of selection for a state team. After playing for the Dalhousie Athletic Club, he was recommended to Debabrata Das, a former assistant secretary of the Cricket Association of Bengal, who was impressed with Shami's bowling and asked him to join his own club, Town Club. Das took Shami, who had no place to stay in Kolkata, to live with him. After bowling well for Town Club, Das asked one of the Bengal selectors, Sambaran Banerjee, to watch Shami bowl; Banerjee was impressed and selected him for the Bengal under-22 team.
Shami later joined Mohun Bagan Cricket Club, one of the best teams in Bengal, in order to be considered for selection to the full state team. He bowled to former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly in the Eden Gardens nets; Ganguly recommended him to the state selectors and, soon afterwards, Shami was included in the Bengal squad for the 2010–11 Ranji Trophy.
Domestic career
Shami took four wickets on his senior debut for Bengal in a Twenty20 match in October 2010.Maharashtra and Mumbai start with wins , ESPNcricinfo, 20 October 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2021. The following month, he made his first-class cricket debut against Assam at Eden Gardens, taking three wickets in a high scoring match.Yusuf Pathan leaves Uttar Pradesh in trouble , ESPNcricinfo, 19 November 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2021.Mohammed Shami , News18. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
In February 2012 his bowling helped East Zone win their first Duleep Trophy title; he took eight wickets in the match and was described as "outstanding, consistently getting bounce and zip from just short of a good length".Purohit, Abhishek (2012) East Zone secure maiden Duleep title , ESPNcricinfo, 14 February 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2021. He had only played in the match following an injury to Abu Nechim, but it proved to be a significant breakthrough in Shami's career;Purohit, Abhishek (2012) Five Indian players to watch , ESPNcricinfo, 4 April 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2021. he had been described as "little-known" before the match,Purohit, Abhishek (2012) Dinda, Shami Ahmed put East Zone on top , ESPNcricinfo, 12 February 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2021. but by April was being touted as a player to watch in the upcoming Indian Premier League season.
He was selected to tour the West Indies with the India A team and "impressed" with his bowling on pitches which were considered to be generally unhelpful to fast bowlers.Mohammed Shami , Cricbuzz. Retrieved 29 October 2021. Shami was considered to have been the "surprise package" of the tour for India A, and impressed the team's coach Lalchand Rajput with his strength and consistency whilst bowling, as well as with his batting;Monga, Sidharth (2012) Disappointed, but not panicking – India A coach , ESPNcricinfo, 20 June 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2021. batting tenth in the first unofficial Test match, he scored 27 runs in a partnership of 73 with Cheteshwar Pujara which won the match for India A.Captain Pujara wins thriller for India A , ESPNcricinfo, 5 June 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2021. Later in the year he was one of only two fast bowlers retained for the India A tour of New Zealand,Monga, Sidharth (2012) Mukund to lead India A in New Zealand , ESPNcricinfo, 10 August 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2021. although he only played in two of the six matches on the tour.
During the 2012–13 Ranji Trophy, Shami took 11 wickets in a match against Madhya Pradesh in November, including seven wickets for 79 runs (7/79) in the first innings, a return which included a hat-trick.MP ahead despite Ahmed hat-trick , ESPNcricinfo, 24 November 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2021.Pandey five-for leads Madhya Pradesh to improbable win , ESPNcricinfo, 27 November 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2021. The following month he took 4/36 and 6/71 against Hyderabad on a green wicket at Eden Gardens, his second ten-wicket match in only his 15th first-class game.Shami's ten wickets give Bengal win , ESPNcricinfo, 17 December 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2021.Know Mohammed Shami, who rattled West Indies batsmen at Eden Test , India TV, 6 November 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2021. In the five Ranji Trophy matches he played during the season he took 28 wickets at a bowling average of 21.25 runs per wicket, and in the 18 first-class matches he played before his Test match debut in 2013 he took 71 wickets, an average of four wickets each match.
Since making his international debut in 2013, Shami has played only occasionally for his state team. He played a limited overs match in March 2017 after not having played any competitive cricket for a period of four months,Shami returns in Bengal's loss to Gujarat , ESPNcricinfo, 6 March 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2021. and took part in four Ranji Trophy matches later in 2017, his first for around five years,Muthu, Deivarayan (2017) How India's internationals fared in the opening round , ESPNcricinfo, 9 October 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2021. to develop and maintain his fitness.Dikshit, Vishal (2017) Rotation deepening India's bowling pool , ESPNcricinfo, 24 October 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2021. A single first-class match for Bengal followed in 2018—with the BCCI requesting that he be limited to bowling no more than 15 overs in each innings in the match to ensure his fitness for an upcoming Test series.Gollapudi, Nagraj (2018) BCCI limits Shami workload to 15 overs per innings in Ranji match , ESPNcricinfo, 17 November 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2021.More I bowl in Ranji, more it will help in Australia – Shami , ESPNcricinfo, 23 November 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2021. Shami has not played for Bengal since 2018/19 season.
International cricket Test career 2013 to 2018 Shami made his Test debut against West Indies in November 2013 in front of his home crowd at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. In the first innings, he took his maiden Test wicket – that of Kieran Powell – and finished with figures of 4/71. In the second innings, he took 5/47. His match total of nine wickets, for 118 runs, is the most by an Indian pacer on debut, surpassing Munaf Patel's seven wickets for 97 runs at Mohali in 2006.
Shami had little success on India's 2014 tour of England, however, finishing with just five wickets in three matches. He was involved in a 111-run partnership for the 10th wicket, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the first Test at Trent Bridge, scoring his maiden half-century in the process and helping India post 457 in the first innings.
He took 15 wickets in three Tests during India's 2014–15 tour of Australia, and went on to become the 20th Indian fast bowler to take 100 Test wickets, reaching the milestone in 29 Tests.Stats: Fastest Indian pacers to 100 Test wickets , CricTracker, 14 January 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2021
In 2018, he toured England with India, playing in all five Tests. He finished the series with 16 wickets, including six in the fourth Test.
2019–21 ICC World Test Championship During the 2019–21 ICC World Test Championship, in the 2019 India-West Indies two-match Test series, Shami took nine wickets. He took thirteen in the home series against South Africa (2019) and five in New Zealand (2020). He was included in the playing XI of the first international pink ball Test match organised in India, at Eden Gardens, the second Test of the 2019–20 Bangladesh tour of India, in which he took two wickets. During this series, Shami reached seventh position in the ICC Men's Player Rankings after taking seven wickets in the first Test. His rating of 790 points was then the third-best achieved by an India pace bowler, behind only Kapil Dev (877) and Jasprit Bumrah (832). During the 2020–21 tour of Australia, Shami suffered a broken arm while batting against Pat Cummins during the second innings of the first Test. He retired hurt and was ruled out of the rest of the series.
Shami was the joint-tenth highest wicket taker in the tournament, along with Jofra Archer, with 40 wickets in total. He was the highest wicket taker among the Indian pacers and the second highest of all Indian bowlers, behind only Ravichandran Ashwin.
Shami played in the Test Championship final against New Zealand at The Rose Bowl in Southampton. He took four wickets in the first innings, but New Zealand won the match by 8 wickets.
2021–23 ICC World Test Championship During the 2021–23 ICC World Test Championship, in the 2021 India-England series, on 16 August 2021, in India's second innings, Shami made his highest score and second half-century in Test cricket, with an unbeaten score of 56* in a partnership with Jasprit Bumrah, which helped team India to script a historical win against England. Playing 3 matches in the 5-match series, Shami finished as the fifth highest wicket-taker of the series with 11 wickets with the best figures of 4/95 coming during the first innings of the third match of the series.