Former India cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu has backed Mohammed Shami’s selection for the upcoming tour of England amid rumours of him being left out of the team. Shami hasn’t played Test cricket for 23 months, with his last appearance coming against Australia in the World Test Championship 2023. He made a comeback to international cricket earlier this year in January after a 14-month injury layoff.

However, Shami hasn’t been in the best form in the Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025), having scalped just six wickets from nine innings. The speedster has looked completely out of rhythm in the T20 extravaganza raising doubts on his readiness to play Test cricket. Despite his poor form, Navjot Singh Sidhu has backed Shami’s selection for the England tour, mentioning his ability to make the ball nip off the surface.

“Let me tell you about Shami — a lot of people might be thinking, ‘No, he’s expensive with the white ball,’ but that’s wrong. When the red ball comes into play, the seam protrudes — it’s almost upright, and it stays that way. When the seam hits, Shami makes it nip off the surface by about six inches, and that movement causes more trouble than the one that swings in the air. That’s why, as a red-ball bowler, he is a match-winner — out and out,” Sidhu told Sports Today in an exclusive interview.

Shami has played 14 Tests in England and has scalped 42 wickets at an average of 40.50 with best figures of 4/57 in an innings. In his absence, during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the onus of leading India’s pace attack fell on Jasprit Bumrah’s shoulders alone. The speedster did a remarkable job by taking 32 wickets from ten matches but was overburdened throughout the series due to lack of support.

Hence, Shami’s presence will be extremely crucial in England to provide the much-needed support to Bumrah and end India’s 18-year drought for a series win on English soil.