Mohammed Shami Profile, Career & Stats

Hailing from a remote village in Uttar Pradesh, Mohammed Shami was born to a fast-bowler-turned-farmer. His father spotted a spark in only one of his five children (all aspiring fast bowlers) and took him to a renowned coach in Moradabad. 

A bundle of energy, he was known to be a hard worker, full of stamina and trained like a workhorse under the watchful eye of Badruddin Siddique.

After years of hardwork, in 2013, Shami donned the Indian jersey for the first time and gradually began making noteworthy contributions. With his ability to reverse, the right-arm quick became an important asset to the limited-overs side.

Mohammed Shami Domestic Career

After being snubbed from the U-19 selection due to alleged political corruption, Mohammed Shami was advised by his coach to move to Kolkata. He was taken under the apprenticeship of Debabrata Das to the extent of staying under his roof and just about made it to the U-22 Bengal side. 

After a specially conducted net session supervised by Sourav Ganguly, Shami was recognised as a special talent, and after a tough grind through the ranks, he got his chance to represent Bengal at the Ranji level.

After a commendable set of performances at the domestic level, Shami was selected for the West Indies A tour in 2012, where he impressed with his pace and lateral movement on relatively flat surfaces with little or no assistance for fast bowlers. From an impressive 10-wicket haul at the grassy Eden track to the unprecedented 11-wicket haul at the rather unhelpful Indore track, Shami was fast proving to be one of the stand-out and versatile performers in the Indian domestic circuit.

After almost six months of surgery, Shami resumed playing cricket again and was a part of the 2015 Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

After being snubbed by the Indian selectors, rather than limiting himself to marquee tournaments, Shami made a conscious effort to stay connected to the game and maintain his match fitness. Shami returned to domestic cricket towards the back end of 2024.

Mohammed Shami ODI Career

Mohammed Shami made his ODI debut for India against Pakistan on January 6, 2013, in Delhi. He delivered a stellar performance, recording figures of 1/23 from 9 overs, which included four maiden overs, making him the first Indian and eighth bowler overall to achieve this on ODI debut.

With his ability to reverse, he became an indispensable asset to the limited-overs side, becoming the second-fastest Indian to 50 ODI wickets. The World Cup 2015 proved to be a great tournament for him as he took 17 wickets, becoming one of the leading wicket-takers in the tournament despite playing the World Cup with a knee injury.

Shami played the complete World Cup 2015 with pain and swelling in his left knee. In the 2019 Cricket World Cup, Shami played as a second-choice bowler after Bhuvneshwar Kumar. 

As Bhuvneshwar got injured in a group game against Pakistan, Shami was brought in for the remainder of the group games. In four matches, Shami picked up 14 wickets, including a fifer and a hat-trick against Afghanistan, and saved India from a shocking loss. Shami became the second Indian (after Chetan Sharma) in the history of the 50-over World Cup to achieve this feat.

Although the seamer was not India’s first-choice pick for the XI in the 2023 ODI World Cup, an injury to Hardik Pandya forced the side to tinker with their combination and include the veteran pacer. 

Shami did not disappoint and emerged as the top wicket-taker among all teams. He took 24 wickets in seven matches, the most by an Indian in a single edition of the World Cup. He grabbed three five-wicket hauls and registered figures of 7/57 in the semi-final versus New Zealand, the best by an Indian bowler in the history of ODI cricket.

Returning to the Indian team after a lengthy injury layoff, Shami took charge of the bowling attack during the Champions Trophy, stepping up in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. 

In the opening group-stage match against Bangladesh, Shami delivered a stellar performance, claiming 5/53. With this feat, he became the fastest bowler to reach 200 ODI wickets and surpassed Zaheer Khan to become India's leading wicket-taker in ICC tournaments.

Mohammed Shami Test Career

Mohammed Shami had a sizzling Test debut in 2013 on his home ground, Eden Gardens, Kolkata, dismantling the Daren Sammy-led West Indies when all eyes were on Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja to do the bulk of the damage. Shami’s reverse swing was unplayable as the Windies batters didn’t have an answer to it.

Shami was selected for India’s tour of South Africa and took 13 wickets in the three-match series. He missed the Asia Cup and South Africa’s tour of India, and he was again injured during England and New Zealand’s tours of India. 

Known for his ability to extract movement from both new and old balls, he has played pivotal roles in numerous Test victories, both at home and overseas.

Mohammed Shami T20I Career

Mohammed Shami was India’s mainstay in the T20 World Cups of 2021 and 2022. While it seemed as if he would not make the Indian squad for the 2022 edition of the tournament, Jasprit Bumrah’s injury opened up the doors for his entry. He blew hot and cold throughout these two World Cup campaigns.

Notably, unlike his carnage in the ODIs, he has not been that effective in the shortest format of the game.

Mohammed Shami IPL Career

Shami entered the IPL when he was signed by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for the 2011 season of the league. However, Shami played a handful of matches in that season. He was retained by KKR for the next two seasons and was a part of the team that won the title in 2012.

In 2014, Delhi Capitals (formerly known as Delhi Daredevils) bought Shami for a whopping INR 4.25 crore. He was retained by the franchise for the 2015 edition, but he did not play a single match before becoming a regular in the side from the 2016 season. He bowled at a consistent pace of 140 kmph and above. Before the 2019 edition of the coveted tournament, Kings XI Punjab roped him for a massive INR 4.40 crore.

The pacer was not successful in the initial years. However, he found his mojo in the tournament, with his IPL numbers improving with each season. Shami was released by the Punjab Kings after the IPL 2022. Gujarat Titans purchased the Indian pace bowler in 2023. Shami was their leading wicket-taker with 20 scalps in 16 games, and his spells proved vital in the Titans’ clinching their maiden IPL title in their debut season. He won the Purple Cap in the IPL 2023, finishing up with 28 wickets in 17 matches.

Later, he underwent surgery, which eventually ruled him out of the 2024 edition of the IPL. In the 2025 IPL mega auction, Sunrisers Hyderabad secured the services of Mohammed Shami for a hefty sum of INR 10 crore. Injury-prone Shami was traded to the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for the IPL 2026 season for a fee of INR 10 crore.

(As of April 2026)