Duleep Trophy 2026: Following East Zone’s victorious Duleep Trophy 2026 campaign, veteran fast bowler Mohammed Shami has disclosed his hilarious banter with the 15-year-old batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. With the duo sharing the field for East Zone and contributing heavily to their title win after 13 years, Shami has revealed how he trolled Sooryavanshi.
Duleep Trophy 2026: What is the banter Mohammed Shami and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi share?
With Shami now aged 36 and seemingly at the twilight of his cricketing career, the right-arm seamer revealed that the left-handed batter loves to pull his leg. However, the Bengal seamer also disclosed that he trolls Sooryavanshi by saying he isn’t even as old as his career. The veteran said the below, as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo:
“He (Sooryavanshi) loves pulling my leg! I usually tease him back by saying he isn’t even as old as my cricket career. But he constantly banters with me, and that’s great to see. Being able to open up, mingle freely, and build camaraderie will serve him well going forward. I always encourage players to speak openly with everyone.”
While Sooryavanshi had an average game by his standards, his quickfire 37-ball 44 in the first innings set the stage for Ishan Kishan’s marathon knock of 270, which eventually resulted in a total of 708. In response, South Zone conceded a lead of more than 300 runs. East Zone batted again scored another 388 runs to win on first innings. Shami, who has been out of the Indian team for more than a year now, picked up a couple of wickets without giving away many runs.
Can Mohammed Shami return to the Indian Team?
When asked former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly whether or not Shami can come back to the Indian team for the 2027 World Cup, he recalled his own case and said, as quoted by PTI:
“What makes me happy for Shami is that he turns out day in and day out in domestic cricket and performs. It is terrific to see. He has achieved so much. That’s a long way. I can’t comment. It’s in October (next year). It’s a long way. He is not being neglected. He has played a lot. He is an absolute champion. But as you grow older, this happens. When I got left out from World Cup one-day cricket for a year, after scoring 10,000 runs, I found my way to come back. So this happens with everyone.”
Shami could very well play in the upcoming season of the Ranji Trophy.
