'If He Does Stay Fit...': Ajit Agarkar Responds To Shami's Dig Over Australia-Tour Exclusion

Chief selector Ajit Agarkar responded on Friday to Mohammed Shami's dig at him for omitting the senior India pacer from the white-ball tour of Australia.

The comments by the senior men's selection committee chairperson at the NDTV World Summit 2025 come days after Shami ostensibly took a dig at Agarkar, saying that his availability for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy proved his fitness and it was not his job to give an update on his fitness to the national selectors.

When asked about it at a discussion, Agarkar said: "If he says that to me, I will probably answer that. I am not quite sure what he said. Maybe if I read that, I might give him a call."

"My phone's always on for most players and I've had multiple chats with him over the last few months. I don't want to try and give you a headline here," he told the moderator.

Agarkar highlighted that Shami had been an incredible performer for India. "Even before England we said if he was fit, he would have been on that plane. Unfortunately, he wasn't."

Agarkar underscored that the domestic season has just started, and they would see if Shami is fit enough and "we will see where it goes". "This is the first round of the Ranji games that's going on. We will find out in a couple of more games," he added.

Agarkar had claimed recently that he had "no updates" on the senior pacer when queried about the possibilities of his India comeback.

Shami, who last represented India in the Champions Trophy triumph, had undergone a surgery after the 2023 World Cup. The 35-year-old had last played for the Indian Test team in the World Test Championship final against Australia in June 2023.

"Look, with his quality, if he is bowling well, why would you not want to have someone like a Shami," he said at the NDTV summit. "But with what we found in the last six-eight months up to a year... unfortunately, his fitness wasn't there."

"If he does stay fit over the next few months, who knows, the story might be different," Agarkar added.