Stats highlights of Mohammad Shami's Test career, which finished on 64 matches and 229 wickets

Sampath Bandarupalli

Published: Nov 9, 2026, 1:48 PM (9 hrs ago)

Mohammed Shami retired from Test cricket last week, more than three years since his last appearance and exactly 13 years after a dream debut against West Indies, when he took 9 for 118 at Eden Gardens - still the second-best match figures on debut for India.

Shami finished with 229 wickets in 64 Tests at an average of 27.71, the fourth best among 24 Indians with 100 or more wickets. Among the ten fast bowlers in that list, Shami ranks second, behind Jasprit Bumrah's 19.79. In terms of strike rate, Shami (50.7) is second only to Bumrah (42.8) again. It is also the tenth best strike rate among 87 bowlers with 200-plus wickets.

The numbers Shami put together during his 64 Tests weren't common for an Indian bowler at the time of his arrival, and especially so for a fast bowler. At the time of his Test debut, only eleven quicks had taken 50 or more Test wickets for India, and only Kapil Dev averaged under 30 (29.64). R Ashwin's average of 28.53 was the best among all bowlers.

Shami was central to what became India's dream era in Test cricket, driven by the pace-bowling revolution. Only three fast bowlers had taken 200-plus Test wickets for India when Shami debuted, and 13 years later, he finished one of six.

Peaking after injury

Shami hit his peak soon after his comeback to Test cricket in July 2016, after nearly 18 months away. He took more than half of his Test wickets in the next three and a half years - 128 in 35 Tests between July 2016 and November 2019.

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Only seven bowlers took more wickets during that period, and he was the only Indian quick with more than 100. Those wickets came at an average of 23.77 and a strike rate of 46.2. Among bowlers with 75 or more wickets in that period, only two had a better strike rate: Kagiso Rabada (40.3) and Mitchell Starc (45.8).

Shami's contributions showed in India's results: they won 22 of 35 matches in that period and lost only seven, all in 2018.

Unbeaten at home

One of the most fascinating aspects of Shami's career is that India never lost a Test match at home when he was in the XI. He played 21 home Tests; India won 17 of those and drew four. Mudassar Nazar (35), Sarfraz Nawaz (27), and Mike Brearley (21) are the others who played 20 or more home Tests without losing.

Shami, in fact, never lost a Test match in Asia, with India winning the three he played in Sri Lanka. Only Sarfraz Nawaz (27, all in Pakistan) played more Tests in Asia without losing.

India's unbeaten home run was aided by Shami's bowling, even in conditions not known for assisting fast bowling. Shami has 76 Test wickets in India at an average of 22.1. Only four bowlers have taken 50 or more Test wickets in India at a better average, and only Bumrah among the quicks. In terms of strike rate, Shami's 42.6 is third among all 31 bowlers.

Shami's 86 wickets in Asia came at an average of 21.59, the fifth best among 59 bowlers with 75 or more wickets, while his strike rate ranks third best. Shami's average in Asia is also the best among 22 Indians with 75-plus wickets.

Bowled, Shami

A common sight when Shami was bowling was him breaching a batter's defence and making the stumps cartwheel. He has taken 66 wickets by bowling batters, which is 28.82% of his career tally. Only six of the other 86 bowlers with 200-plus Test wickets have a higher % of bowled wickets.

As many as 34 of Shami's 66 bowled wickets were of batters in single digits, and another 20 were of batters before they scored 30. He had a knack for dismissing batters early, with 102 of his 229 victims in single digits. 80.77% of his career wickets were of batters before they scored 30. Among bowlers with 200-plus wickets, Shami's is the sixth-highest figure and the highest for India.

Few fast bowlers are effective at any stage of a Test innings. Shami is one of them, his ability to strike with new ball and old was a crucial factor to his success. He is one of only ten quicks to have taken 100-plus wickets while opening the bowling, and 100-plus wickets at first change or later. He averaged 29.50 when he took the new ball and 25.57 when he did not. Ian Botham is the only other bowler among the ten to average less when he didn't take the new ball.

A second-innings sensation

Shami was highly reputed for his performances in the third and fourth innings of Test matches. He took 128 wickets in the opposition's first innings at an average of 30.6 and strike rate of 55.1.

Those figures dropped sharply in their second innings: 101 wickets at an average of 24.05 and a strike rate of 44.1. The 6.55 difference in his average between the opposition's first and second innings is the fifth highest among 41 fast bowlers to have taken 100-plus wickets in both innings.

Sampath Bandarupalli is a statistician at Cricinfo