Mohammed Shami wasn’t pleased seeing Sanjay Manjrekar ridiculing his potential of drawing a top bid in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction. Shami, who remains one of the most sought-after pacers in the Indian spectrum, lashed out at Manjrekar after the latter predicted a drop in the pacer’s price tag at the IPL auction. While Manjrekar has no doubts that there would be a host of teams after Shami in the auction, he doesn’t feel the pacer would bag more than INR 6.25 crore, which he did by the Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2022 auction.

“There will definitely be interest from teams, but given Shami’s injury history — and this recent one took a significant amount of time to recover — there’s always a concern about a potential breakdown during the season,” Sanjay Manjrekar said on Star Sports.

“If a franchise invests heavily and then loses him mid-season, their options become limited. This concern might lead to a drop in his price tag.”

“Baba Ki Jay Hooooo. Thoda sa gyan apne futue ke liye bhi bacha lo kaam ayeaga Sanjy G. Kisi ko futue janna ho to sir se mile (Save a little wisdom for your own future. If anyone wants to know their future, do contact ‘baba ji’),” Shami wrote in an Instagram story, mocking Manjrekar.

Mohammad Shami’s Instagram story. pic.twitter.com/PIruQ4oRcS

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) November 21, 2024

Shami returned to competitive cricket recently after a long injury-induced break. After the 2023 ODI World Cup, where Shami was the highest wicket-taker, the fast bowler has been missing from from action owing to several injury issues. He finally played a Ranji Trophy game recently for Bengal. BCCI selectors were reportedly happy to see his fitness progress. However, Shami is not yet being sent to Australia. 

Shami has registered for a base price of Rs 2 crore for the IPL 2025 auction. He was picked by Gujarat Titans in 2022 for Rs 6.25 crore. 

Earlier, a report in news agency PTI, Mohammed Shami’s international comeback might take place in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy but it could happen during the second half of the series. Those privy to developments said BCCI medical team and national selectors want Shami to play a few more competitive games in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy to check if his body is holding up after multiple games even if it’s a white ball format tournament.

“Bengal team for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will be selected tomorrow. If Shami is not going for Border Gavaskar Trophy, I believe he will be available for Bengal,” head coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla told PTI.

It is understood that the selection committee doesn’t want to take chances by fast-tracking Shami after just one Ranji Trophy match having completed an extensive rehabilitation programme.

However, Shami, who appeared in a competitive match after a year, was impressive in his outing for Bengal against Madhya Pradesh at Indore, returning with a seven-wicket match haul in his side’s first victory of the season.