Mohammed Shami has landed in the news yet again, this time over his angry reply to former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar’s forecast about his potential worth in the IPL 2025 auction. The Indian pacer, who has just come back to cricket after a long injury break, did not spare Manjrekar for his comments that his auction price will fall.
In an Instagram story, Shami called Manjrekar ‘Baba’ and jokingly said 'Baba ki jai ho' and further asked the commentator to preserve some of that wisdom for himself for the future. This cheeky comment came after Manjrekar had opined that Shami’s injury-prone nature may not allow franchises to bid big for him because they would not want to have a player they invested a lot in get injured halfway through the season. “There will definitely be interest from teams,” Manjrekar said on Star Sports but added, “but given Shami’s injury history... this concern might lead to a drop in his price tag.”
Shami has listed himself for a reserve price of Rs. 2 crore for the IPL 2025 auction. He was bought by the new franchise Gujarat Titans for a record price of Rs 6.25 crore in 2022. Even though the Titans let Shami go after he failed to play the whole of 2024 due to injuries, he is still considered one of the best bowlers to sign for the league.
The pacer recently bowled in a Ranji Trophy match, and he took seven wickets, which showed that the cricketer is ready to play international cricket again. There are reports that he may be included in India’s team for the next Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia.
While Shami waits for the IPL auction on November 24-25 in Jeddah, cricket fans will have to watch how teams approach his talent rather than previous performance and injury problems. His performance record also comes into consideration—most recently, he was the highest wicket-taker in the recent ODI World Cup.
