Mohammed Shami Retires From Test Cricket After 64 Matches and 229 Wickets

A 13-year Test journey ends on its anniversary

Mohammed Shami retires from Test cricket. The 36-year-old made the announcement on Friday, 6 November 2026, via an Instagram video posted on the 13th anniversary of his Test debut. He will continue to play white-ball cricket, including the IPL and domestic cricket, and said he may still play longer-format games for fitness — but not international Tests.

The decision closes a career of 64 Tests and 229 wickets at an average of 27.71 and a strike rate of 50.2. ESPNcricinfo notes that this leaves him just outside the top five fast bowlers in India's history, as the country's sixth-most successful seamer.

Debut to farewell, 13 years to the day

Shami made his Test debut against West Indies at Eden Gardens on 6 November 2013 and took a match haul of 9 for 118, still his best bowling figures. India won that match by an innings and 51 runs. In the retirement video, quoted by ESPNcricinfo, he tied the two dates together:

"I got this [his Test cap] on 6th November, and today is 6th November. So, let's end this 13-year journey here today. I made my debut today, and today I am taking retirement."

He thanked coaches, trainers, physios and, especially, fans: "In this 13-year journey, this cap, this ball, made me Mohammed Shami. All the ups and downs, I did fall, I did get hurt, I did get injured. But I stood up again for this badge."

The Indian Express reported his written farewell as well: "Safed jersey se vida le raha hoon, lekin usse judi yaadon se kabhi nahi" (I am saying goodbye to the white jersey, but never to the memories associated with it). He signed off with "Shukriya, Test Cricket."

What the numbers say

ESPNcricinfo's summary of Shami's record underlines why Indian supporters remember him as more than a support seamer:

• 229 wickets in 64 Tests at 27.71, strike rate 50.2.
• In India he averaged 22.1 and struck once every 42.6 balls; only three Indian bowlers have a better home strike rate.
• Nearly 45 percent of his dismissals were bowled or lbw, a product of his upright seam and wicket-to-wicket lengths.
• India won 31 of the 64 Tests he played and drew 13. He never lost a Test at home.
• The Indian Express added that he took six five-wicket hauls and was part of India's first Test series win in Australia in 2018-19.

He was often more dangerous in the second innings than the first, especially at home, where reverse swing did the talking. One image from that method still circulates: he broke Alastair Cook's stump in half during India's 4-0 home series win over England in 2016.

His last Test for India was the World Test Championship final against Australia at The Oval in 2023. He has not played any international cricket since the Champions Trophy final in March 2025. For how the current WTC cycle looks without that generation of seamers as automatic picks, the table has already moved on; the farewell still lands as the end of a distinct era in India's pace attack.

What he does next

Shami was born in Amroha in western Uttar Pradesh and built his first-class career with Bengal after a Ranji Trophy debut in November 2010. ESPNcricinfo reported that he was part of Bengal's most recent match earlier in the week of the announcement. The Indian Express said he has been named in Bengal's squad for the 2026-27 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, which starts on 14 November.

In the IPL he plays for Lucknow Super Giants. All 10 franchises have until 17 November to decide which players to retain or release ahead of the 2027 auction.

Sources: ESPNcricinfo (6 November 2026) for the announcement, career figures (64 Tests, 229 wickets, average 27.71, strike rate 50.2, home average 22.1) and video quotes; The Indian Express for the written Instagram farewell, the six five-wicket hauls, the 2018-19 Australia series and the Bengal SMAT squad note.