Mohammed Shami's loud message to Ajit Agarkar & Co with 8-fer in Ranji Trophy semis after BCCI's central contract snub

Mohammed Shami once again gave out a loud reminder to the Ajit Agarkar-led BCCI selection committee with an eight-wicket haul against Jammu and Kashmir on the ongoing Ranji Trophy semifinal at the Kalyani stadium in West Bengal.

Having ended Day 2 with the first five wickets of the Jammu and Kashmir line-up, the 35-year-old added another three on Day 3 to end with a career-best figure for Shami. He finally finished with figures of 8/90 as Jammu and Kashmir were all out for 302 in reply to Bengal's first innings total of 328.

Prior to this match, Shami's best figures in Ranji Trophy was 7/79. Bengal have taken a 26-run lead. Shami's eight wickets came after the veteran pacer was snubbed from the BCCI Central Contracts list for 2025-26, that came out a few day ago in the middle of the T20 World Cup 2026.

One of the Indian heroes of 2023 ODI World Cup, Shami has been overlooked by the national selectors for more than a year now despite consistent performances in the domestic circuit. The last time Shami played for India was during their ICC Champions Trophy-winning campaign in 2025.

In the ongoing domestic season so far, Shami has shown he still has the pedigree to perform at the top level time and again. With 67 wickets so far in the domestic season (16 in Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy, 15 in Vijay Hazare Trophy and 36 and counting in Ranji Trophy), Shami's show might make the selectors rethink. In fact, BCCI selector RP Singh was present during Bengal's quarterfinal against Andhra Pradesh in Kalyani.

Devdutt Padikkal slams maiden double hundred

In Lucknow, Karnataka skipper Devdutt Padikkal slammed his maiden double-century, powering his side to a massive 689/6 against Uttarakhand in the Ranji Trophy semifinal. Padikkal slammed 232 off 330, including 29 fours and 3 sixes, while Karnataka batter Ravichandran Smaran added an unbeaten 121 off 191 with 11 fours under his belt. Their dominant knocks lifted Karnataka to a massive 689/6, piling on Uttarakhand's misery in the Ranji Trophy semifinal.

After the Ranji Trophy, Shami will be seen in Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) colours after he was traded for RS 10 lakhs from Sunrisers Hyderabad ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League. Shami, who is playing IPL since 2013, has played all the editions except 2024, where he was sidelined due to injury. In IPL, Shami has 133 wickets in 119 innings.