Mohammed Shami has walked away from Test cricket. The India fast bowler announced his retirement from the longest format on Friday, November 6, 2026 – exactly 13 years after he first pulled on the white jersey at Eden Gardens. He leaves with 229 wickets from 64 Tests and a reputation as one of the finest seam bowlers India has produced.
The 36-year-old shared the decision through a video message on Instagram. He made it clear that this is not a goodbye to the game: Shami will continue to play white-ball cricket, including the IPL and domestic tournaments, and said he may still turn out in domestic first-class matches if he needs the overs for fitness.
A farewell on the anniversary of his debut
The timing was deliberate. Shami made his Test debut on November 6, 2013, against the West Indies in Kolkata, and he pointed out that his last day as a Test cricketer falls on the same date. In his message he thanked the BCCI, the Cricket Association of Bengal, his family, his coaches and the fans who backed him through injuries and comebacks. He also mentioned his Test cap number, 279, as something he will always carry with pride.
That debut is still remembered in Kolkata. Shami took 4 for 71 and 5 for 47 – nine wickets in the match – as India won by an innings and 51 runs. It remains the best match haul by an Indian pacer on Test debut.
Mohammed Shami's Test career in numbers
| Test debut | November 6, 2013 vs West Indies, Eden Gardens |
| Last Test | WTC Final vs Australia, June 2023 |
| Matches | 64 |
| Wickets | 229 |
| Bowling average | 27.71 |
| Economy rate | 3.30 |
| Best bowling | 6/56 |
| Five-wicket hauls | 6 |
| Four-wicket hauls | 12 |
| Highest score | 56* |
| Test cap number | 279 |
From Sahaspur to the new-ball spot
Born in Amroha, Uttar Pradesh, Shami grew up in Sahaspur village, where his father – a farmer who had himself bowled fast in his younger days – encouraged him to chase the game. Around 2005 he moved to Kolkata in search of better opportunities, and it was Bengal that gave him his first-class break in the 2010-11 season.
Within a few years he had become a fixture in India's Test attack. On the 2014-15 tour of Australia he took 15 wickets in three Tests and reached 100 Test wickets in just 29 matches. In England in 2018 he played all five Tests and picked up 16 wickets. In South Africa in 2021-22 he took 5 for 44 in the first Test at Centurion, became only the fifth Indian pacer to reach 200 Test wickets – and the quickest of them in terms of deliveries – and finished as India's leading wicket-taker in the series.
The Lord's partnership fans won't forget
Shami's most famous Test innings came with the bat. At Lord's in August 2021, he and Jasprit Bumrah put on an unbeaten stand in India's second innings, with Shami making 56 not out. That partnership turned the match on its head and set up a memorable Indian victory, and clips of it still do the rounds on social media every August.
What made him special
Former teammates often talk about Shami's wrist position. His seam stayed bolt upright, which allowed him to move the ball both ways off the pitch even when there was little swing in the air. On flat Indian surfaces he found reverse swing with the old ball; abroad, he was the bowler captains turned to when a partnership needed breaking. Alongside Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and later Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, he was part of the pace group that changed how India won Tests overseas.
The white-ball story continues
Shami's ODI record is just as rich. At the 2023 ODI World Cup at home he did not play the first four matches, then finished as the tournament's leading wicket-taker with 24 wickets in only seven innings. His 7 for 57 in the semi-final against New Zealand at the Wankhede remains the best ODI bowling figures by an Indian. He was also part of India's 2025 Champions Trophy-winning squad and received the Arjuna Award in 2023.
He now plays his IPL cricket for Lucknow Super Giants. With the Test chapter closed, he can manage his workload around the shorter formats, where his experience with the new ball remains valuable.
What it means for India's Test attack
Shami had not played a Test since the World Test Championship final against Australia in June 2023, where he took four wickets in a defeat. Injuries, including surgery, kept him out of the side for long spells, and a younger group of quicks has since taken over the red-ball roles. His retirement formally closes that door and gives the selectors clarity as they plan India's next Test cycle.
For fans, it is the end of an era that began on a winter afternoon in Kolkata. Shami leaves Test cricket as one of only a handful of Indian fast bowlers with more than 200 wickets, and with a highlight reel – the wobble-seam deliveries, the reverse-swinging yorkers, the Lord's fifty – that will be replayed for years.
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