Mohammed Shami has retired from Test cricket after 13 years, 64 matches and 229 wickets. The India fast bowler announced his decision on the anniversary of his debut, said he will keep playing white-ball cricket, including the IPL, and left room for red-ball domestic appearances if his fitness requires it.
Amroha, India: Mohammed Shami picked the anniversary of his Test debut to close the book on it. On Friday, 13 years to the day after he first pulled on India’s whites at Eden Gardens, the 36-year-old fast bowler announced his retirement from Test cricket in a video message and written caption on Instagram.
A farewell on debut day
Shami spoke of a 13-year climb from a small village and thanked God, his parents, his family, friends and colleagues, as well as the BCCI and the Cricket Association of Bengal. “I am leaving the white jersey, but never the memories connected to it,” he said in the post. The decision covers only the longest format. He said he will carry on in white-ball cricket, including the IPL and domestic competitions, and may still play domestic red-ball cricket if he needs it for fitness.
229 wickets in 64 Tests
The numbers explain why the news lands heavily. Shami finished with 229 Test wickets in 64 matches, at an average of 27.71 and a strike rate of 50.2 balls per wicket, including six five-wicket hauls. His debut set the tone. Against West Indies in Kolkata in 2013 he took 4 for 71 and 5 for 47, a match haul of 9 for 118 that remains his best, in an innings-and-51-run win.
His last Test was the 2023 World Test Championship final against Australia at The Oval, where he took 2 for 122 and 2 for 39 and India lost by 209 runs. He has not played for India in any format since the Champions Trophy final in March 2025.
Out of the squads, out of the Test plans
The announcement follows a long absence from India’s red-ball plans. When the BCCI named its squads for the New Zealand tour in October, Shami was not in any of them, and the two-Test series that opens in Wellington on 19 November will go ahead without him. He has continued to play for Bengal.
What comes next
Shami’s immediate future is in white-ball cricket, where he says he intends to keep playing in the IPL and in domestic tournaments. For India, it formally closes a chapter for a bowler who has not played a Test since that 2023 final. Shami ended his message with thanks to Test cricket itself and a Diwali greeting to supporters.
