Mohammed Shami's personal coach has lashed out at the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee over the veteran pacer's snub from India's squad for the upcoming ODI series against New Zealand, starting January 11. Contrary to expectations, Shami was surprisingly left out of the 15-man squad which was announced on Saturday. The 35-year-old had raised his selection hopes with a stunning show in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy, BCCI's premier 50-over domestic tournament.
In five matches so far, Shami has picked up 11 wickets for Bengal. However, his name was nowhere to be seen in the Shubman Gill-led squad.
Speaking on the selectors' decision, Shami's coach questioned what more the veteran pacer could do to force Agarkar and Co. to pick him again.
"What more can a player do? How many more wickets should the player take?" Shami's coach told India Today.
Shami's coach also feared that this could be the end of the road for his disciple as far as the Indian ODI team is concerned.
"This means that they do not want him in the ODI team. He has a lot to give," he added.
Bengal coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla also called out the selection committee over Shami's exclusion and called the decision an "injustice."
"The selection committee has done injustice with Mohammed Shami. No international player has played domestic cricket with as much dedication as Shami in the recent past. Even after toiling hard in domestic cricket, what the selection committee has done with Shami is shameful," Shukla told Revsportz.
With veteran pacer Jasprit Bumrah also rested, the pace attack comprises Siraj, Harshit Rana, and Arshdeep Singh, with all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy being the fourth option.
India ODI squad for NZ series: Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Shreyas Iyer (VC; subject to fitness clearance), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal.
