diff --git a/test/syscalls/build_defs.bzl b/test/syscalls/build_defs.bzl
index a63eda81d..771d171f8 100644
--- a/test/syscalls/build_defs.bzl
+++ b/test/syscalls/build_defs.bzl
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 # on the host (native) and runsc.
 def syscall_test(
         test,
-        shard_count = 1,
+        shard_count = 5,
         size = "small",
         use_tmpfs = False,
         add_overlay = False,