NEW DELHI: Mohammed Shami has opened up about his first experience inside the Indian dressing room and admitted that he was nervous after seeing several stars he had grown up watching. Shami had already made his ODI debut against Pakistan in Delhi on January 6, 2013. He made his Test debut later that year against the West Indies at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, from November 6 to 8. His T20I debut came against Pakistan in Mirpur on March 21, 2014.However, joining the Indian dressing room for the first time was a completely different experience for the fast bowler.Shami recalled attending his first team meeting and the moment Yuvraj Singh asked him to stand on a chair and speak to the team.“The first time I joined the Indian team, I did not know how things were. There was a team meeting a day before the game. When I walked in through the door and looked around, there was not one name that had not come in my dream. I just sat quietly. Yuvraj Singh asked me to stand on the chair. What can you tell him? So I did that. He told me to give a speech. I had forgotten everything after seeing all the names. I could not say much. I just told my name and where I was from. I could not say more than that as I could not remember anything,” Shami said.ID@undefined Caption not available.ID@undefined Caption not available.The moment came at the beginning of a career that would see Shami become one of India’s leading fast bowlers.
Shami names India’s funniest player
Shami also spoke about the lighter side of the Indian dressing room and revealed the funniest player he played alongside.His pick was former India opener Shikhar Dhawan. The two spent several years together in the Indian team, with Dhawan playing 34 Tests, 167 ODIs and 68 T20Is before retiring from international and domestic cricket in 2024.Shami said Dhawan often knew how to lift the mood, even when India had suffered a defeat.“Shikhar is very funny. He does those things. Say we lost a match, everyone comes and sits in the change room. Shikhar wants to do something different. He will just laugh very loudly. If I ask why are you laughing, he says because we lost. He does such things. Anytime, he will stand on the table and start dancing to Punjabi music. These things create that atmosphere in the dressing room. We also enjoy it because winning and losing keep happening. When you are playing the whole year, you will win and lose. All these things are there. But no one then goes into a very sad mood in the dressing room,” the pacer said on cricketnextofficial.Shami has played 64 Tests for India and has taken 229 wickets, including six five-wicket hauls. He has also represented India in 108 ODIs, taking 206 wickets, including six five-wicket hauls.In T20Is, Shami has played 25 matches and picked up 27 wickets.His last appearance for India came against New Zealand in the Champions Trophy final in Dubai on March 9, 2025. India won the match by four wickets.
