Mohammed Shami retires from Test cricket after 64 Tests and 229 wickets
His best figures were 6/56 against Australia at Perth in December 2018, and his last Test was the 2023 World Test Championship final.
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Former India fast bowler Mohammed Shami has announced his Test retirement, ending a red-ball career of 64 matches and 229 wickets that began against the West Indies in November 2013. The 36-year-old made the announcement in a video on Instagram, published on Friday night, 6 November 2026.
What Shami said about his Test retirement
Shami said he was saying goodbye to the whites but not to his memories of Test cricket, IANS reported. He thanked God, his family, friends, coaches, strength trainers, physiotherapists and support staff.
“It has been a long journey, thirteen years, starting from such a small place,” he said in the video.
He did not name a reason. Injuries have kept him out of the Indian side in every format in recent seasons, and he has not played a Test since June 2023.
Key numbers: 64 Tests and 229 wickets
- 11th: his place on India’s list of leading Test wicket-takers.
- 27.71: his Test bowling average, with 12 four-wicket hauls (Asianet Newsable).
- 6/56: his best innings figures, against Australia at Perth in December 2018 (IANS).
- 6 November 2013: Test debut against the West Indies.
- June 2023: his last Test, the World Test Championship final against Australia at The Oval.
Shami’s career: from Amroha to India’s pace attack
Born in Amroha in Uttar Pradesh, Shami played his domestic cricket for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy and for East Zone in zonal matches. He made his Test debut against the West Indies on 6 November 2013, so his retirement comes almost exactly 13 years later.
Across 64 Tests he took 12 four-wicket hauls on top of his five-wicket returns. He formed India’s Test pace attack with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. His best spell came at Perth in December 2018, when he took 6/56 against Australia.
In May 2025, after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli quit Tests, Shami angrily denied reports that he would follow them. He called one such article the worst story of the day. Eighteen months later, he has made the call himself.
What people said
“I have worked incredibly hard and experienced many ups and downs,” Shami said. He said he had fallen, got hurt and picked up injuries, but had always stood back up to face the challenge again.
He began the video by thanking God, saying he had been given far more than he had ever imagined, and then thanked his family and friends for the long journey from a small place.
What happens next
Shami has not said whether he will keep playing white-ball cricket for India or in the IPL. His Test retirement closes a 13-year chapter in the format, and he has not played for India in any format in recent seasons. More cricket news is in our Sports section.
Shami's exit removes the last of the fast bowlers who carried India's Test attack through its overseas wins of the late 2010s. It also closes the uncertainty over his comeback, letting selectors plan the pace attack for the next World Test Championship cycle without him.