Mohammed Shami To Evaluate Career Options With Gautam Gambhir Amid Comeback

Mohammad Shami must engage in a candid discussion with himself and other key figures about his future with the Indian cricket team, according to former India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey.

The star bowler has been sidelined since India's World Cup 2023 campaign, where he was the top wicket-taker. Shami had surgery on his Achilles tendon in February and is reportedly nearing the end of his rehabilitation. He might return for the Test series against Bangladesh.

Shami, who will turn 34 on September 3, recently appeared on a YouTube podcast stating he has no plans to retire from any format. However, Mhambrey believes Shami may need to reconsider his plans to prolong his career.

"You have to give him that choice, talk to him. What is that thing you want, right? What is your plan, what where do you look at? Obviously you have your trainers coming in fitness guys coming in and S&C (strength and conditioning) guys coming in, your doctors coming in and they should be on boards," Paras Mhambrey said while talking with News18 CricketNext about Shami's future under India's new head coach Gautam Gambhir.

Mhambrey emphasised the importance of having an honest conversation with Shami about his future. "Where do you look at? Do you want to play what format you want to play? You want to play why do you want to play red (Test)? You want to play all and just kind of have a conversation very honest conversation saying okay fine you looking at maybe two, three, four years whatever. Have that conversation that okay fine with white ball and red ball this is the amount of games that we have, this amount of bowling you will have to do. The choice is his and you have to give him that," Mhambrey added.

Shami has played 64 Tests, 101 ODIs, and 23 T20Is for India. He is expected to be pivotal in the upcoming months as India will play 10 Test matches over five months.

Realistic Goals for Shami

Mhambrey also mentioned the need for realistic goals for Shami. "You may sometimes have to challenge him as well, saying that he may have a certain format in the mind or he may feel as a player, I feel like I can play all three format, but you've got to take realistic calls. Is it really beneficial? Is it how valuable you are for the team? And that Shami is a valuable player for the team, right? We need to make sure that he's there for the next three, four years. So the purpose of, if we can have him for the next three years, and how do we create a path for him? So have that conversation with him," concluded Mhambrey.