Mohammed Shami refuses to be sidelined.
The seamer, who has been left on the fringes for the last eight months, bowled Bengal to victory with a fiery seven wicket match haul against Uttarakhand in the first round of the Ranji Trophy on Saturday, October 18.
Shami, prior to Bengal's Ranji Trophy match against Uttarakhand, while slamming the selectors, expressed his anguish at being overlooked for the ODIs against Australia, stating that if he is fit for the Ranji Trophy, he might as well have also played 50 over cricket.
BCCI Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar clarified that Shami wasn't selected for the England series because he wasn't fit and his general match fitness hasn't been up to the scratch in the last six to eight months.
'If Shami was here, I would give him an answer. If he is fit, why wouldn't we have a bowler like Shami? I have had multiple chats with him. Over the last six to eight months, what we have found out is that he wasn't fit. He wasn't fit to be picked for the England tour,' Agarkar told the NDTV World Summit on October 17.
Now, according to a Sportskeeda report, former India pacer R P Singh, who was added to the Agarkar-led selection committee last month, held lengthy discussons with Shami following Day 2 of the Ranji Trophy match between Bengal and Gujarat on Sunday, October 26.
'After the media exchanges between Ajit Agarkar and Mohammad Shami last week, newly-appointed selector R P Singh is at Eden Gardens for the Bengal vs Gujarat clash. The World T20 winner spoke to Shami at length after the day's play today,' the report said.
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