When did Mohammed Shami last play T20I match for India?

The wait is finally over for Indian cricket fans as lead pacer Mohammed Shami made his return to international cricket. The 34-year-old was included in the playing XI for the third match of the T20I series against England which is being played in Rajkot. Shami, last played for India during the finals of the 2023 ODI World Cup in Ahmedabad. 

Interestingly, Shami’s last T20I match for India came during the 2022 T20 World Cup. The match in question is the semi-finals against England which was played at the Adelaide Oval. Jos Buttler’s side won the game by ten wickets and also captured the title by beating Pakistan in the finals. 

The match was played on 10th November 2022 and Shami bowled three overs and was whacked for 39 runs. The right-arm pacer had played six matches in the tournament and picked six wickets with a best of 2/14 versus Zimbabwe in Melbourne. Selectors decided to ignore the veteran seamer as the likes of Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan were given more chances. 

What is Mohammed Shami’s T20I record for India?

Veteran Indian pacer Mohammed Shami has just played 23 matches for India in the T20I format. Shami made his debut in the format in 2014 during the T20I World Cup match against Pakistan under MS Dhoni. The seamer bowled four overs and gave away 31 runs and his only wicket of the game was Umar Akmal for 33 runs. 

India’s pace ace has picked 24 wickets in this format of the game with a best of 3/15 which came against Scotland in 2021. Despite his stellar numbers in the IPL, selectors decided to overlook the veteran star for much young options in the following years. 

Interestingly, Shami is yet to score a single run in the T20I format for India. The 34-year-old has batted just thrice in this format of the game and was unbeaten on two of those occasions. Indian fans and team management in particular will be keeping a close look on the pacer who has been facing fitness issues for a long time and missed an entire year of cricket.