Mohammed Shami has opened up about the nerves and excitement he felt when he first entered the Indian cricket team’s dressing room, recalling how Yuvraj Singh immediately put him on the spot during a team meeting.

A speech he could barely remember

Shami had already made his ODI debut against Pakistan in Delhi on January 6, 2013, before making his Test debut against the West Indies at Eden Gardens later that year. His T20I debut followed against Pakistan in Mirpur in March 2014.

Yet walking into the India dressing room for the first time was a different challenge. The fast bowler said he was overwhelmed by the presence of players he had grown up watching.

“The first time I joined the Indian team, I did not know how things were. There was a team meeting a day before the game. When I walked in through the door and looked around, there was not one name that had not come in my dream. I just sat quietly,” Shami said.

Yuvraj then asked Shami to stand on a chair and introduce himself to the group. The moment left the newcomer so nervous that he struggled to deliver the speech.

“Yuvraj Singh asked me to stand on the chair. What can you tell him? So I did that. He told me to give a speech. I had forgotten everything after seeing all the names. I could not say much. I just told my name and where I was from,” Shami recalled.

Shami picks Dhawan as India’s funniest player

Shami also reflected on the lighter side of the Indian dressing room and selected former opener Shikhar Dhawan as the funniest teammate he played alongside.

According to Shami, Dhawan regularly tried to lift the mood, even after defeats. He said Dhawan might laugh loudly after a loss, dance on a table to Punjabi music or simply find a way to keep teammates from sinking into a gloomy mood.

“Shikhar is very funny. He does those things. Say we lost a match, everyone comes and sits in the change room. Shikhar wants to do something different. He will just laugh very loudly. If I ask why are you laughing, he says because we lost,” Shami said.

Shami added that such moments helped the team handle the demands of a long season, where victories and defeats are inevitable.

The fast bowler has played 64 Tests for India and taken 229 wickets, while claiming 206 wickets in 108 ODIs. He has also taken 27 wickets in 25 T20Is. His most recent India appearance came in the Champions Trophy final against New Zealand in Dubai on March 9, 2025, when India won by four wickets.