On Sunday, November 16, Shubman Gill-led Indian team went down against South Africa in the first Test by 30 runs and now trail the two-match Test series by 0-1 margin. While the game was well balanced,
but Simon Harmer of South Africa spun a web as the Protean side restricted the hosts under 100 to go up in the series. While the World Test Championship winners will be confident going into the second Test, India will look to get their combination right.
With the second Test scheduled to be played from November 22 at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, the Indian team will be sweating on the fitness of skipper Shubman Gill, who was discharged from the hospital on Sunday evening and continues under observation after a neck spasm. Amidst this, former India captain and President of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) Sourav Ganguly has urged head coach Gautam Gambhir to look at Mohammed Shami.
Have faith in Bumrah, Siraj, and Shami: Sourav Ganguly backs pace trio ahead of second Test
With Shami being out of the Indian side since the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, Ganguly has urged the Indian team management to look at him and have faith in the pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Shami. “I am very fond of Gautam; he has done well in the 2011 and T20 World Cups. He will continue for a while, but he must play on good pitches in India. He must have faith in Bumrah, Siraj, and Shami," Ganguly said while speaking to Sports Tak.
“I think Shami deserves a place in this Test team. Shami and the spinners will win Tests for him," Ganguly added. It is to be noted that Shami hasn’t featured in a Test since 2023, when he represented India in the WTC Final against Australia, but returned for the CT 2025 earlier this after recover from an injury.
India's updated squad for Test series against South Africa:
Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (WK) (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep
