Once again there remains huge uncertainty surrounding the futures of Indian fast bowlers and veteran players Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami. India recently announced the squads for the upcoming white-ball series against West Indies, with Shami and Bhuvneshwar being overlooked. This series is crucial for India ahead of the ODI World Cup 2027. The three-match ODI series will begin on September 27 before the five-match T20I series starts on October 6.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been in tremendous form and delivered powerful performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. He returned with 28 wickets in RCB’s title-winning campaign. Shami too has been out of team India since 2025; however, he has continued to feature in domestic cricket, strengthening his case to make a comeback. Meanwhile, former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has now weighed in on the situation, saying the duo’s omissions could indicate that the window for both Bhuvneshwar and Shami to return to the national team is becoming increasingly narrow.

"In all of this, there is no mention of Mohammad Shami anywhere. I think this was an important selection. There is a lot of overlapping happening; you are trying out a lot of new players. There is no Mohammad Shami and no Bhuvneshwar Kumar, so I think the writing is on the wall. When you look at it from Shami and Bhuvi's point of view, I think this was a very important selection. You could have thought about Bhuvi for T20s and Shami for ODIs, but you are not thinking about it," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

"When there are names like Auqib Nabi, Mayank Yadav, and Prince Yadav, and no Bhuvi or Shami, I think it tells us something. I think this is something that we should accept and realise that this is where we are. Make peace with it and keep moving on, that is what I think," Chopra said.