India pacer Mohammed Shami has strongly dismissed retirement talks, making it clear that he intends to continue playing cricket at both domestic and international levels. Shami, who was not picked for the upcoming Asia Cup, last represented India during the Champions Trophy in March this year.
Amid growing speculation about his future, Shami hit back at critics with a counter-question:
"If anyone has an issue, let me know, if it is like their lives become easy if I retire. Tell me whose life have I become a pillar in that you want me to retire. The day I feel bored, I will quit. You don't choose me, but I will work hard. You don't choose me in international, I will play for domestic. I will continue playing somewhere or the other."
Talking to News24, the experienced fast bowler asserted that he has still got a lot of cricket in him and reaffirmed his desire to play an important role for India in future campaigns.
Shami reiterated that his dream job is still to win the ODI World Cup for India, a dream he came agonisingly close to in 2023 when India were defeated by Australia in the final.
"I have just one dream left, and that is winning the ODI World Cup. I wish to be part of that team and perform that wins the ODI World Cup and brings it home. We were quite close in 2023. We had a feeling, but we also had a fear that we were winning continuously, and it was the knockout stage. Some fear was there. But the passion and belief of the crowd inspired us. This was a dream which could have been achieved, but perhaps it was not in my fortune," he added.
The 33-year-old pacer told that he has been training hard for two months now on his fitnes and skill set.
"Touchwood it is in a better state now. For the past two months, I have worked, enhanced my capabilities, lost weight and increased the load too. Let's see what result I achieve now. My concentration is on achieving rhythm and being able to bowl long spells. I have worked on batting and fielding too and done extensive gym. Everything feels alright now," Shami clarified.
Shami also confessed that overworking his body in the past had resulted in lengthy injury layoffs, providing examples from the 2015 and 2023 World Cups.
"We tend to push a lot and then we must pay a huge price. That happened with me in the 2015 World Cup when I pushed a lot and then needed to have my knee operated on. The same scenario was present in 2023. I played injured and then had to retire and spent a lot of time thereafter. I am not saying one should not push, but if it is a regular series, you can speak with the management," he added.
As per NDTV, Shami has featured in 64 Tests, 108 ODIs, and 27 T20Is and has taken a total of 462 wickets across formats. Though presently out of the national ranks, his will to return is as adamant as ever.
