Sourav Ganguly Urges Gautam Gambhir to Catch the Next Flight to Australia for the Perth Test

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly is adamant that fast bowler Mohammed Shami should be immediately flown to Australia for the upcoming second Test in Adelaide. Ganguly is confident that Shami, who recently made a successful return to competitive cricket for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy, should be a definite starter for the crucial match, especially since it will be played under lights. Shami's impressive performance in his comeback match after a long absence due to a knee injury has convinced Ganguly that he is ready to make a significant impact on the field in Australia.

Shami picked up four wickets in the first innings, and in the final innings of the match, Shami took the last wicket of Kumar Kartikeya to help Bengal register a win by 11 runs. In the entire Ranji Trophy match, Shami returned with seven wickets. He also registered his highest First-Class score for Bengal, scoring a 36-ball 37 in the second innings.

Ganguly now believes that Shami should definitely travel to Australia, and the pacer does not need to play the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy to prove his fitness.

"Yeah, I will send him to Australia. He doesn't need to play the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. I'll send him to Australia, even if he misses the Perth Test. He keeps bowling, he should be on the flight, he has bowled today as well. He should be on the next flight to Australia," Ganguly told RevSportz.

Mohammed Shami has not been named in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy squad, however, his childhood coach Mohammed Badruddin expressed hope of seeing the pacer travel to Australia at some point in the series.

“He will be joining the Indian team after the Adelaide (second) Test. Now that he is back, proved his fitness, picked up wickets, he will be crucial for the team in the second half of the tour,” he told the Indian Express.

Ganguly, who led Team India during the 2003-04 series Down Under, also believes that Prasidh Krishna will start ahead of Akash Deep in the Perth Test, set to begin on November 22.

"He (Shami) may miss the Perth Test, but that will be bowling friendly conditions. I think Prasidh will play ahead of Akash Deep, because of the height and conditions. So, Shami should be on the flight and should be ready to play the Adelaide Test," said Ganguly.

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy will be played across five venues -- Perth, Adelaide (D/N Test), Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.

India squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.

Kuldeep Yadav was not named in the squad after he was referred to the BCCI Centre of Excellence for long term resolution of his chronic left groin issue.