64 wickets in 23 ICC games: why India can't go to the 2027 World Cup without Mohammed Shami

Some bowlers have good numbers. Some bowlers have good numbers when it matters. Mohammed Shami is the rare one whose numbers get better as the stakes go up.

India's selectors are about to name the ODI squad for New Zealand, the next step on the road to the 2027 World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. Shami has not played for India since March 2025. On Sunday, on the opening day of the new Ranji Trophy season, he reminded everyone what he can still do, taking four Delhi wickets for 30 runs in Kalyani, according to the live scorecard.

That spell is the latest line in a long, loud argument. Here is why India need him back in the ODI side, and why next year's World Cup is the reason.

The big-tournament bowler India keep forgetting

Shami's record at ICC 50-over events is the best of any Indian bowler, and it is not close.

• ODI World Cups: 55 wickets in 18 matches, at an average of 13.52 and a strike rate of 15.8. That makes him India's leading wicket-taker in World Cup history.
• Four five-wicket hauls and four four-wicket hauls at World Cups.
• Fastest to 50 World Cup wickets: he got there in 795 balls during the 2023 semi-final. Mitchell Starc's previous record was 941.
• World Cups and Champions Trophies combined: 64 wickets in 23 matches. He passed Zaheer Khan's Indian record of 59 during the 2025 Champions Trophy, and Zaheer needed 32 matches to get there.
• Best figures: 7/57 against New Zealand in the 2023 World Cup semi-final, the best ever by an Indian in an ODI.

Three World Cups, one pattern

What makes Shami's story so striking is how often India started a big tournament without him, and how quickly they had to change their minds.

At the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, he took 17 wickets in seven matches while playing through knee pain, and led India's attack all the way to the semi-final.

In 2019 in England, he did not play India's first four games. Once he came in, he took 14 wickets in four matches, including a hat-trick against Afghanistan and a five-for against England. He was then left out of the semi-final, which India lost to New Zealand.

In 2023, he again missed the first four games. He came in at Dharamsala and took five New Zealand wickets. He followed that with 5/18 against Sri Lanka and the 7/57 in the semi-final, and finished as the tournament's leading wicket-taker with 24 wickets at 10.70, one every 12 balls.

Then came the 2025 Champions Trophy. With Jasprit Bumrah injured, Shami led the attack, opened the campaign with 5/53 against Bangladesh, and finished with nine wickets as India won the title.

Four ICC 50-over events, four times among India's most important bowlers. When the cricket matters most, he has delivered.

The domestic form that keeps knocking

The usual answer to all of this is fitness. So look at what Shami has done since India stopped picking him.

• Ranji Trophy 2025-26: 37 wickets in seven matches, as Bengal reached the semi-finals, including a career-best 8/90 against Jammu and Kashmir.
• Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26: 15 wickets in seven 50-over games at an economy of 6.10.
• Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025-26: 16 wickets in seven matches.
• Duleep Trophy 2026: seven wickets as East Zone won their first title in 14 years, including a spell of 11 overs for 17 runs in the final.
• Ranji Trophy 2026-27: four wickets for 30 runs on day one against Delhi.

That is three formats, a full first-class season and the start of another, all at 36. The Vijay Hazare numbers matter most for this argument. They show he can still bowl ten overs in a 50-over game, keep the run rate down and take wickets.

Why India need him now

India's bowling is in a difficult place. The bowlers conceded 1,052 runs in three ODIs against West Indies in the recent home series, and this week West Indies chased 250 against them in a T20I in Ranchi. Head coach Gautam Gambhir has spoken up for his bowlers after that defeat, saying "their careers are at stake" on pitches this flat.

Flat pitches will not be the problem in South Africa next year. Pitches there reward a bowler who hits the seam hard with the new ball and gets it to move off the surface. That is exactly how Shami bowls. His upright seam position has been his biggest weapon for over a decade.

There is also the question of who leads the attack. Bumrah cannot play every game, and his workload has to be managed. Behind him, the selectors have tried Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna and others, but nobody has made a new-ball spot their own. A World Cup is not the place to find out who can handle pressure. India already know Shami can.

The age question, answered honestly

Shami turned 36 last month, and he will be 37 by the time the World Cup starts on 4 October 2027. That is a real concern, and the selectors have every right to manage it carefully.

But age is a reason to plan, not a reason to ignore him. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has just been recalled to the T20I side at 36 after a Purple Cap season. Pointing to that recall, R Ashwin said this week: "I would not say that the door is shut on Shami either." A new selection panel, led for now by Pragyan Ojha after Ajit Agarkar's term ended, has a chance to make a fresh call. The public back-and-forth between Shami and Agarkar over his fitness last year no longer has to shape it.

The sensible plan is simple. Pick him for New Zealand, give him a few ODIs over the next year, and manage his load around the World Cup. India do not need Shami for every series between now and October 2027. They need him fit and firing for one tournament.

Our verdict

India have spent two World Cups starting without Shami and then turning to him when things got serious. They should not need a third reminder. His record in big tournaments is the best of any Indian fast bowler, his domestic form says he is ready, and the World Cup is heading to conditions made for him.

Should Shami be in India's ODI squad for New Zealand, and on the plane to South Africa next year? Follow TryBall for the squad announcement and every update on India's road to the 2027 World Cup.