Mohammed Shami and Rishabh Pant [Source: AFP]Mohammed Shami and Rishabh Pant seem to have gradually fallen off the radar, with both senior men facing uncertainty over their places in India’s current plans. While Shami has not played any international match for India since lifting the Champions Trophy 2025, Pant has been only considered for Test cricket in the last few years. Since the Indian selection committee is up for a management change, both cricketers can still make their way back into the national ODI line-up ahead of next year’s 2027 ICC World Cup, at least according to a certain optimistic former Indian opener. Aakash Chopra slams selectors for unjustly excluding Mohammed Shami and Rishabh PantSpeaking exclusively for CREX, esteemed cricket expert and former opener Aakash Chopra said that he still believes that senior Indian cricketers like Mohammed Shami and Rishabh Pant can make their returns to the national ODI squad in time for next year’s 2027 ICC Cricket World Cup in South Africa. Also Read- India ODI Squad Vs West Indies Announced, Rohit-Virat Get Another LifelineIt is worth noting that the BCCI selection committee recently announced Team India squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against the West Indies. With several Indian stars bound for the 2026 Asian Games in Japan, many fans considered the ODI series against West Indies as a perfect opportunity for Shami and Pant to get selected as backup options. However, their respective exclusion from the series left many surprised, prompting Aakash Chopra to call out the selectors for their unjustified call. Speaking about Pant, the former Indian Test opener said “The exclusion of Rishabh Pant left me surprised. He has hardly played any ODI cricket in the last three years. What has he exactly done that you have dropped him completely from ODIs? Players like Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson were not available because of Asian Games, so this was a perfect opportunity for Pant’s return.”crictalk @crictalk7 Sep 21, 2026, 5:07 PM Similarly, Aakash Chopra also criticised the selectors for ignoring Mohammed Shami, saying “This was a perfect opportunity for Shami to return since Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah will not be available. Mohammed Siraj is returning, and selectors picked uncapped Auqib Nabi, which means there was an opportunity for Shami. It seems like the selection committee is still not convinced.”Aakash Chopra explains how Mohammed Shami and Rishabh Pant can return to ODI teamThe cricket expert further explained that Mohammed Shami and Rishabh Pant can still make their returns to India’s ODI team once the current selection committee is out of power and a new committee takes charge. He said “A new selection committee with a new chairman is about to be formed. If the new committee is more favoring towards Shami and Pant, hopefully both players can still return before the 2027 ICC Cricket World Cup.”crictalk @crictalk7 Sep 21, 2026, 5:18 PM A look at Shami and Pant’s List A record and recent formIndian speed demon Mohammed Shami has been a force to reckon with in the last couple of World Cups, especially in the 2023 edition. However, the fast bowler spent the next 14 months on the sidelines owing to his injury concern, only to get ruled out again despite lifting the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.Apart from being one of the fastest bowlers in the world to complete 200 ODI wickets, Shami also collected 15 wickets for Bengal in just seven innings in this year’s 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy.Rishabh Pant, meanwhile, aggregated 212 runs in six innings for Delhi at an average of 42.40 in the same tournament. Despite holding an average of 33.50 with a strike rate of over a 100 in ODIs, the explosive wicketkeeper-batter has played just one ODI match for Team India in nearly four years. Also Read- Japan Predicted Playing XI vs India: One-Off T20I, India Tour Of Japan 2026
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