The Mohammed Shami effect: Match-winning spells, heroic despite defeats and an overseas legacy beyond numbers

Exactly 13 years after he made his Test debut, Mohammed Shami announced his retirement from the longest format of international cricket on November 6.

It brought an end to a Test career in which he played 64 matches for India, picking up 229 wickets at an average of 27.71.

He was a crucial part of the Indian team during their overseas dominance in red-ball cricket. In 41 away Test matches he played, Shami picked up 145 wickets, accounting for 63.3% of his total tally.

Shami had that ability to find a breakthrough at crucial stages to change the course of a match in favour of the Indian side.

In the 14 away Tests that India won with him on the field, the 36-year-old picked up 55 wickets at an average of 22.49. In the matches India lost, the average went up to 36.42.

His rate of dismissals in wins were about 22 balls quicker than in defeats.

These stats partly reveal the impact he had for India away from home.

An Indian player is often judged by his performances in SENA countries. Shami picked up 115 wickets in 32 away Tests across these nations at an average of 32.84. India won seven of those matches with him playing, and he claimed 29 wickets at 25.34. In the 18 defeats, he picked up 55 wickets at 36.42.

South Africa was his favourite destination among the four, where he averaged 23.22.

South Africa: Where Shami made the difference

Shami was part of two matches that India won in the Rainbow Nation. He played a pivotal role in both games, picking up 14 wickets at an average of 12.93. Out of the 40 wickets that India took in the two matches, Shami accounted for 35% of them.

Johannesburg 2018 gives an idea of how Shami could change the course of a game in a spell.

In the second innings of the match, South Africa were chasing 241 and were at 124/1 with Dean Elgar and Hashim Amla at the crease. Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah accounted for the middle order of the Proteas, and then Shami returned to pick up four wickets for just 10 runs, ensuring India wrapped up the South African lower order quickly and won the game by 63 runs.

He finished the innings with figures of 5/28.

Shami returned to South Africa in 2021 and once again troubled the hosts, this time at Centurion Park. India posted 327 batting first.

Shami then picked up the wickets of Keegan Petersen and Aiden Markram to rock the Proteas early. He followed it up with the dismissals of Temba Bavuma, Wiaan Mulder and Kagiso Rabada to finish with figures of 5/44 as South Africa were bundled out for 197, giving India a 130-run lead.

India set a target of 305 for the hosts in the fourth innings. On his second dig with the ball, Shami got rid of Markram early in the chase and then dismissed Mulder and Marco Jansen.

South Africa were bundled out for 191 as India won by 113 runs. Shami accounted for 40% of India's wickets, finishing with a match haul of 8/107. In a low-scoring game, he proved crucial for the visitors, striking whenever the team needed a wicket.

Australia: When individual brilliance transcended results

Every time Shami was on the field, the discussion was mostly about the heart he showed. This was particularly evident during India's tour of Australia in 2018–19.

In Adelaide, Shami picked up 5/123 in the match as India won by 31 runs. His wicket of Travis Head in the first innings was particularly important in changing the momentum of the game.

In Perth, however, he had an ordinary outing in the first innings, going wicketless while conceding 80 runs. The visitors conceded a 43-run first-innings lead.

Shami returned in the second innings to pick up 6/56, taking the wickets of Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Head, Tim Paine, Aaron Finch and Nathan Lyon. His spell opened up the game for India, and they needed 287 to win the match.

However, they folded for 140, losing the match by 146 runs.

One of his finest contributions came in a defeat. This is exactly why judging his importance by results alone, without context, would leave any analysis of Shami incomplete.

England, New Zealand and the limits of the numbers

England was arguably where Shami was the least effective. He played 12 away Tests there and picked up 34 wickets at an average of 42.14, his worst numbers among the SENA countries.

In the three Indian victories that he was part of, Shami picked up only seven wickets at an average of 47.57.

In New Zealand, he played four matches and picked up 15 wickets at an average of 35.60. India lost three of those matches and drew once.

Judging Shami by numbers alone would not do justice to his talent, despite the statistics themselves being remarkable.

The situations in which he would pick up a wicket would often change the complexion of a game. There were matches where he would return with just one or two wickets, but those incisive strikes could tilt the balance of the match and open the way for his partners.

And beyond all this, it is his art that will leave an indelible impression. The seam presentation, the reverse swing and, above all, the willingness to take the ball whenever his team needed it – Shami's Test career will be remembered for all those things.