Mohammed Shami has retired from Test cricket. The India pacer made the announcement on Friday, closing a 13-year Test career that yielded 229 wickets from 64 matches. He will keep playing white-ball cricket and, if he is fit, domestic four-day cricket. The 36-year-old made the decision public through an Instagram post, and he later followed it with a video message.

The retirement ends one of the more productive careers of the last decade for Indian fast bowling. Shami has been out of the national side since the 2025 Champions Trophy, so the decision is less a surprise to the squad than a formal close to a chapter that had already stalled. For fans, though, the timing lands hard. A pacer who once carried India’s attack across continents is now walking away from the format that defined him.

Shami’s numbers place him among the country’s elite. He is India’s sixth-highest wicket-taker among fast bowlers in Tests, behind Kapil Dev (434), Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma (311 each), Javagal Srinath (236) and Jasprit Bumrah (234). He finished with an average of 27.71 and six five-wicket hauls. His seam and swing, with both the new ball and the old, made him a key piece of the pace unit in different conditions.

A debut at Eden Gardens

Shami made his Test debut against the West Indies at Eden Gardens on November 6, 2013. Thirteen years later, to the day, he received his Test cap and the red ball in the video he posted from his home village. The coincidence was not lost on him. He said he wanted to end the journey on the same date it began.

The video was filmed at his farmhouse in Sahaspur Alinagar village in Uttar Pradesh’s Amroha district. He spoke about starting out in that village and the hard work it took to reach the top level of the game. He described the path as one of ups and downs, and he framed the setbacks as part of what made him who he is.

Shami was India’s Test cap number 279. He said the format shaped his identity as a cricketer, and his words about the red ball read like a man closing a door he does not want to shut.

“This cap and the red ball made me Mohammed Shami. There were many ups and downs along the way. I fell, but got back up for this cap and the ball.”

The overseas days that defined him

Shami’s record in the conditions that test pacers hardest stands out. He claimed 131 wickets in 35 Tests across South Africa, the West Indies and India, and he averaged under 25 in that stretch. South Africa gave him some of his biggest moments. In the second innings of the Johannesburg Test during India’s 2018 tour, he returned figures of 5/28 to help the visitors secure a consolation win. On the next tour to the African nation, he took eight wickets in the opening Test at Centurion.

His last Test appearance came in the 2023 World Test Championship final against Australia at Lord’s. After that match, injuries disrupted his career. He still remained a key figure in India’s white-ball set-up, but the red-ball route narrowed. The decision now puts a clear line under that stage of his career.

What comes next

Shami was clear that this is not a full stop on his playing days. He said he will continue to feature in white-ball competitions, both domestic and the IPL. He also said he could play four-day cricket if his body allows it. He is named in Bengal’s squad for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, which begins on November 14.

He has already been active in domestic red-ball cricket this season. Shami played three Ranji Trophy matches for Bengal in the ongoing season and claimed 14 wickets. That return shows he still had the skill to pick up wickets at the domestic level, even as his international road narrowed.

Shami ended his message with thanks to his coaches, trainers and fans. He also thanked the BCCI and the Cricket Association of Bengal. He expressed hope that more young cricketers would emerge from across the country, a line that sits neatly with the path he took from a village in Amroha to the Test stage.

“I love you all and hope many more talents emerge. A big thank you to the BCCI and the Cricket Association of Bengal.”

For a player whose career was built on the red ball, the retirement closes a long chapter. For Indian cricket, it marks the exit of one of the country’s most reliable Test seamers from the longest format. Shami has not left the game, but the era of his Test career is now over.