Former India opener Aakash Chopra has hinted that veteran India pacer Mohammad Shami might no longer be in the radar for ODIs, and perhaps international cricket as a whole. Chopra also shared that the right-arm fast bowler has been out of action for a long time, and a comeback looks improbable now.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra said, “This is a big call that has been taken. If Mohammad Shami has not been picked for a big tour like Australia… His story has had a big gap. The pause is too big. The pause is almost like a stop,” the former batter said. “Sanju Samson scored a hundred the last time he played an ODI. He batted at No. 3 in South Africa. Dhruv Jurel is in the squad. He is going to be looked at as a future prospect. He recently scored a Test hundred. He is part of the ODI squad now. Rishabh Pant is not there here.”

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“Regarding Samson, Ajit said that we need players who can bat lower down the order, but Sanju does not fit in there. I’ll take that. There is consistency in philosophy. Shreyas [Iyer] was also not picked in the Asia Cup squad because there was no place at the top,” Chopra again added.

However, Sanju Samson has so far featured in 16 ODIs for India and has scored 510 runs, which came at an average of 56.66 and a strike rate of 99.60, with one century and three fifties as well.