Mohammed Shami

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Shami grew up in the village of Sahaspur in Amroha, Uttar Pradesh, one of five children. His father, Tauseef Ali was a farmer who had been a fast bowler in his youth. When Shami was 15 he was taken to Badruddin Siddique, a cricket coach in Moradabad. Siddique recalled: "When I first saw him bowling at the nets as a 15-year-old kid, I knew this boy is not ordinary. So I decided to train him. For one year I prepared him for the UP trials... He was very co-operative, very regular and very hard working. He never took a day off from training." After being overlooked for the Uttar Pradesh under-19 team due to politics, Siddique advised his parents to send him to Kolkata. Shami worked hard on his technique; after matches, he would request the used balls so that he could develop the ability to reverse swing the older ball. In Kolkata, he was taken in by Debabrata Das, a former assistant secretary of the Cricket Association of Bengal, who was impressed with his bowling and let him stay at his home. Das noted: "Shami never wanted money. His goal was the stumps, the sound that comes from hitting the stumps." Shami later bowled to former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly in the Eden Gardens nets; Ganguly recommended him to the state selectors and soon Shami was included in the Bengal squad for the 2010–11 Ranji Trophy.

In Their Own Story

In the 2023 Cricket World Cup semi-final against New Zealand, Shami delivered an unmatched performance. Having taken 7 wickets for 57 runs, he holds the record for the best figures for an Indian Bowler in ODIs, and is currently, the only Indian bowler to have taken 7 wickets in an ODI innings. This performance capped a tournament where he finished as the leading wicket-taker and became the fastest bowler to take 50 wickets in the 48 years history of the Cricket World Cup spanning 13 editions.

Reader's Guide

Shami plays for the Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League. He also plays for Mohun Bagan in domestic competitions of West Bengal. His bowling style is defined by bowling off the seam and using swing, including reverse swing, to move the ball both directions. He has been described as having an edge in the death overs of a limited-overs innings.

Did You Know?

• Shami holds the record for the best ODI figures by an Indian bowler, taking 7 wickets for 57 runs against New Zealand in the 2023 Cricket World Cup semi final.
• He is the only Indian bowler to have taken 7 wickets in an ODI innings.
• Shami finished as the leading wicket-taker in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup and is the fastest bowler to reach 50 wickets in the tournament's history (spanning 13 editions over 48 years).
• His match total of 9 wickets for 118 runs on Test debut against West Indies in 2013 is the most by an Indian pacer on debut.
• Shami became the fifth Indian pacer to take 200 Test wickets, doing so in the fewest number of deliveries (9896).

Humble Origins and Relentless Grind

Born 3 September 1990 in the village of Sahaspur in Amroha, Uttar Pradesh, Shami is one of five children. His father, Tauseef Ali, was a farmer who had been a fast bowler in his youth. At age 15, Shami was taken to coach Badruddin Siddique in Moradabad, 22 kilometres from his home. Siddique trained him for a year for the UP trials, noting Shami never took a day off. Despite bowling well in the under-19 trials, he missed out on selection due to politics. Rather than wait a year, Siddique advised his parents to send him to Kolkata in 2005. There, Shami joined the Dalhousie Athletic Club and was recommended to Debabrata Das, who let him live with him and selected him for his club, Town Club. Das recalled: "Shami never wanted money. His goal was the stumps, the sound that comes from hitting the stumps. Ever since I saw him, most of his wickets were bowled. He bowls with an upright seam, on or just outside off stump, and gets it to cut back in." Shami later joined Mohun Bagan Cricket Club to be considered for the full state team. After bowling to Sourav Ganguly at Eden Gardens, Ganguly recommended him to state selectors, leading to his inclusion in the Bengal squad for the 2010–11 Ranji Trophy.

Domestic Breakthroughs and Consistency

Shami took four wickets on his senior debut for Bengal in a Twenty20 match in October 2010. The following month, he made his first-class debut against Assam at Eden Gardens. In February 2012, his bowling helped East Zone win their first Duleep Trophy title; he took eight wickets in the match and was described as "outstanding, consistently getting bounce and zip from just short of a good length". He had only played following an injury to Abu Nechim, but it proved a significant breakthrough. During the 2012–13 Ranji Trophy, Shami took 11 wickets in a match against Madhya Pradesh in November, including 7/79 in the first innings which included a hat-trick. The following month he took 4/36 and 6/71 against Hyderabad, his second ten-wicket match in only his 15th first-class game. In five Ranji Trophy matches that season he took 28 wickets at an average of 21.25. Before his Test debut in 2013, he took 71 wickets in 18 first-class matches, an average of four wickets each match. Since making his international debut in 2013, Shami has played only occasionally for Bengal, with his last appearance for the state coming in the 2018/19 season.

Global Dominance and World Cup Glory

Shami made his Test debut against West Indies in November 2013 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, taking 4/71 in the first innings and 5/47 in the second. His match total of nine wickets for 118 runs is the most by an Indian pacer on debut. He took 15 wickets in three Tests during India's 2014–15 tour of Australia and became the 20th Indian fast bowler to take 100 Test wickets, reaching the milestone in 29 Tests. In the 2019–21 ICC World Test Championship, Shami was the joint-tenth highest wicket taker with 40 wickets, the highest among Indian pacers. During the 2021–23 ICC World Test Championship, he took 5/44 in the first Test against South Africa in 2021–22, becoming the fifth Indian pacer to take 200 Test wickets, doing so in the fewest number of deliveries (9896). The pinnacle of his career came in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, where he finished as the tournament's leading wicket taker and became the fastest bowler to take 50 wickets in the 48 years history of the Cricket World Cup spanning 13 editions. In the semi-final against New Zealand, he took 7/57, the best figures for an Indian bowler in ODIs and the only instance of an Indian taking 7 wickets in an ODI innings. Shami was a member of the Indian team that won the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.

Honors and Enduring Legacy

Shami is the recipient of the 2023 Arjuna Award for Cricket. He holds the record for the best figures for an Indian Bowler in ODIs (7/57 against New Zealand in the 2023 Cricket World Cup semi final) and is the only Indian bowler to have taken 7 wickets in an ODI innings. He finished as the tournament's leading wicket taker in the ICC World Cup 2023 and is the fastest bowler to take 50 wickets in the 48 years history of Cricket World Cup spanning 13 editions. His match total of nine wickets for 118 runs on Test debut is the most by an Indian pacer on debut. He is the fifth Indian pacer to take 200 Test wickets, achieving it in the fewest deliveries (9896).