Mohammad

Shami

Mohammed Shami Biography and Career

Mohammed Shami is an Indian cricketer who plays for Bengal in the domestic circuit and is best known for his performances in the 2023 ODI World Cup where he led the bowling attack and took India to the final. Shami boasts of a gun barrel straight seam and has the ability to extract movement both off the surface and in the air with the new ball and old. 

Shami’s is a prime example of a rags to riches story. Born in the village of Sahaspur in Amroha, Uttar Pradesh, Shami one of five siblings took a liking to cricket right from a young age. But his father, a farmer, wasn’t well off. Despite that, he took his son to Moradabad to join an academy. The coach there, Badruddin Siddique, was blown away by Shami’s accuracy, pace and willingness to keep putting in the hard yards. He took him under his wing and tried training him for UP trials.

But as it often happens in UP, politics took over and Shami wasn’t selected in the state side despite being one of the best bowlers in the trial. There were also reports where one selector told him that no matter what he did, he wouldn’t be selected. With such bias going around, Shami was advised to move to Bengal by his coach. He played for Dalhousie Athletic Club and impressed everyone. Soon he caught the eye of the senior selectors as well and he was picked up for the U-22 Bengal team.

Shami later joined Mohun Bagan Cricket Club, one of the biggest clubs in Kolkata. There he bowled to former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly in the nets, who was so impressed by Shami that he recommended him to the state selectors. Soon after, Shami was picked to play for Bengal in the 2010-11 Ranji Trophy. 

In 2012, Shami helped East Zone win the Duleep Trophy by bagging eight wickets in the match. Not a lot of people knew about this fast bowler from Bengal, but he firmly established himself on the map and his career was set. 

Shami made his international debut against West Indies in November 2013 in Kolkata. He picked 9 for 118 in his first Test, the most for any Indian cricketer. Soon after, he went on tours of South Africa and New Zealand and was mighty successful. 

Shami did not take long to stake a permanent place across all Indian sides. While he was an effective red-ball bowler, Shami took to ODIs like fish to water. He became the third-fastest Indian bowler to reach 50 ODI wickets and was India’s go-to bowler at the 2015 ODI World Cup. India marched into the semi-final of the tournament and though they lost to Australia, Shami’s performance was praised. It was later revealed that Shami played the entire tournament in pain owing to a knee injury.

He has had his tryst with injuries as well but has fought back well each time. Shami returned to the Indian side in 2017 after a two-year layoff due to a shoulder injury. In 2019, he became the fastest Indian bowler to reach 100 ODI wickets, reaching the mark in just his 56th match. Shami picked a hat-trick in a 2019 ODI World Cup match against Afghanistan becoming the second Indian bowler after Chetan Sharma to pick a World Cup hat-trick. 

Shami’s biggest performance came at the 2023 ODI World Cup. Initially benched, he only came into the side after Hardik Pandya’s injury and it turned out to be a huge turning point. In his first appearance, he picked 5 for 54 against New Zealand. Then came a four-wicket haul against England where India were defending a low score in Lucknow. Shami then picked another five-fer against Sri Lanka, but he reserved his best for the semi-final.

With New Zealand going great guns chasing India’s huge total, Shami came in and changed the complexion of the game. He finished with astonishing figures of 7 for 57, the best-ever for any Indian bowler in ODIs. It was also the first and so far the only time an Indian bowler has picked seven wickets in an ODI.

During the course of the tournament, Shami became India’s most successful bowler in terms of wickets taken in the World Cup. He also set the record for the most four-wicket hauls and five-wicket hauls in ODI World Cups. Shami finished the 2023 ODI World Cup with 24 wickets in seven innings, the most for any Indian in a single edition of the World Cup. 

That was the last time Shami played for India for more than one year. He underwent shoulder surgery soon after the tournament ended and just when he was about to return, a knee injury kept Shami out of contention. 

In 2024, Shami received the Arjuna Award from the President of India. 

Shami in the IPL

Shami was first picked in the IPL by his home franchise of Kolkata Knight Riders for the 2011 IPL season. It took him two years to get his maiden IPL game. In 2013, Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) acquired Shami’s services in the player auction. They  retained him in 2016 despite him missing the entire 2015 season due to an injury. Shami hasn’t always been an IPL regular, missing a chunk of games because of injuries. He was signed by Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) for the 2019 season where he picked 19 wickets in the season and then picked 20 in 2020.

Despite his consistent show, Shami was released by the franchise ahead of IPL 2022. He was then picked by Gujarat Titans for Rs 6.25 crore. In the first season, Shami picked 20 wickets as Titans claimed the IPL in their maiden season. Shami then won the Purple Cap award for being the highest wicket-taker in IPL 2023: 28 wickets in 17 matches as Titans finished runner-up. 

An injury kept Shami out of IPL 2024, but he will be back in action in IPL 2025 for Titans. 

Beyond Cricket

Mohammed Shami has a strong social media presence and he has a huge fan following. On Instagram, Shami has 15.6 million followers while on X (formerly Twitter), he has close to 4 million followers.

Shami also endorses plenty of brands and charges one crore for each endorsement. Out of the known brands, he is the face of Nike, OctaFX, Stanford, Puma, Hell energy drink, and Vision 11 fantasy app.

Two of Shami’s brothers are also professional cricketers. One of his brothers Mohammed Kaif, made his first-class debut for Bengal during the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy season. 

Shami has also been roped in a number of controversies in recent times. He married Hasin Jahan in the year 2014 and the two have a daughter. But the marriage soon hit a reef. In 2018, his wife lodged an FIR accusing Shami and his family members of domestic violence and adultery. Shami denied the allegations but the BCCI withheld his contract in light of the allegations. Jahan had also claimed that Shami was involved in match-fixing.

In 2019, a court in Alipore issued an arrest warrant against Shami. But he was absolved of the charges. Then, in 2021, Shami was a victim of online communal trolling after India’s defeat against Pakistan in a T20 World Cup game. Plenty of ex and current cricketers stood in support of Shami.

In 2024, Shami took to X to slam people who were conjecturing his knee injury. He wrote: “Why these type of baseless rumors? I'm working hard and trying my level best to recover.  Neither the BCCI nor me have mentioned that I am out of the Border Gavaskar series. I request the public to stop paying attention to such news from unofficial sources. Please stop and don’t spread such fake fake fake & fake news, especially without my statement.”

Mohammed Shami Records 

Mohammed Shami Domestic Records

• Shami picked up 14 wickets in his first eight domestic T20 games

Mohammed Shami Test Records

• Shami picked nine wickets in his debut Test against West Indies, which is a record for any Indian bowler
• Shami’s rating of 790 points is the third-best ever achieved by an Indian fast bowler, only behind Jasprit Bumrah and Kapil Dev 
• In 2014, Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar recorded the second-highest 10th wicket partnership for India in Tests, when they put on 111 runs against England in Nottingham.

Mohammed Shami ODI Records

• Shami is the fastest Indian bowler to pick 100 ODI wickets. He got to the milestone in just his 56th match
• He is the third-fastest Indian bowler to 50 ODI wickets
• Fastest Indian bowler to pick 150 ODI wickets
• He was the leading wicket-taker in the world in the 2019 calendar year with 42 wickets from 21 matches
• Shami is the first Indian bowler to bowl four or more maiden overs on his ODI debut
• He is the first Indian bowler to pick 50-plus wickets in the ODI World Cup
• Shami holds the record for the best ODI figures for an Indian bowler: 7 for 57 against New Zealand
•  Has the best figures for an Indian bowler in an ODI World Cup game

Mohammed Shami IPL Records

• Was Punjab’s highest wicket-taker for three straight seasons between 2019 and 2021
• He is one of four bowlers to take 50 or more wickets for the Punjab franchise
• Shami won the Purple Cap award in IPL 2023 after finishing the tournament with the most wickets: 28 in 17 matches
• That year he picked 17 wickets in the powerplay alone, which is the most for any bowler in any season of the IPL

Mohammed Shami Other international records

• Shami is the first Indian bowler to take three consecutive four-wicket hauls in the ODI World Cup