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Mohammed Shami Retires from Test Cricket: A Look at His 13-Year Journey

Fast bowler Mohammed Shami has announced his retirement from Test cricket after a 13-year career, though he will continue playing ODIs and T20Is.

Red cricket ball and stumps on a pitch under stadium floodlights
Photo: NAPARAZZI, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Top24hr Desk2 min read

Mohammed Shami has called time on his Test cricket career, announcing his retirement through an emotional social media post in which he said he was proud to have played for India, according to AajTak. The fast bowler will continue representing India in One Day Internationals and T20 Internationals, as reported by Dainik Bhaskar.

The announcement has become one of the top trending searches in India on 7 November 2026, as fans and former teammates react to the end of an era for one of the country's finest pace bowlers.

What Did Shami Achieve in Tests?

Over a 13-year career, Mohammed Shami played 64 Test matches for India and picked up 229 wickets, according to Dainik Bhaskar. These numbers place him among the leading fast bowlers India has produced in the longest format of the game.

His consistency with the new ball and his ability to extract reverse swing in the later stages of an innings made him a key weapon in India's bowling attacks across different conditions, from bouncy overseas pitches to dry subcontinental tracks.

Memorable Spells Across Continents

Navbharat Times highlighted five of Shami's most memorable Test spells, pointing out that his impact was felt everywhere from Perth to Johannesburg. The report also noted that he made a mark right from his debut match, showing early promise that he went on to fulfil over more than a decade of international cricket.

His overseas performances, in particular, were valued highly by team management and fans alike, since fast bowlers who can trouble batters on pacy, bouncy pitches abroad are considered especially prized assets in Indian cricket.

Why This Matters Now

Shami's retirement from Tests marks the end of one phase of his international career while opening a new one, as he remains available for white-ball cricket. For India's Test team, his exit means the think tank will need to continue building its fast-bowling depth for the longer format, a process that has been ongoing as senior pacers near the end of their careers.

Fans took to social media to pay tribute to Shami's journey, recalling his resilience through injuries and comebacks over the years. While the snippets do not provide further details about a farewell match, a felicitation event, or specific quotes beyond his retirement post, his continued presence in ODI and T20I cricket means Indian fans will keep seeing him in national colours, just not in the whites of Test cricket.

As more details and tributes emerge through the day, this remains a developing story around one of Indian cricket's most reliable pace spearheads of the last decade.

Sources: AajTak, Dainik Bhaskar, Navbharat Times

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