Ganguly Urges Shami's Recall to Indian Team

Kolkata, India – Former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly has urged selectors to recall veteran pacer Mohammed Shami to the national team, emphasizing his recent standout performances in the Indian Premier League and domestic cricket as evidence of his readiness to partner Jasprit Bumrah in the pace attack.

Ganguly made the comments on Tuesday during the inauguration of the third season of the Bengal Pro T20 League, ahead of Lucknow Super Giants' IPL 2026 match against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on Thursday. Shami, 35, has been absent from the Indian side since the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy final, where selectors cited fitness issues following his injury recovery. Despite this, he has shown consistent form, taking 67 wickets across domestic formats in the 2025-26 season.

In the IPL, Shami starred for LSG in their first win of the season, a five-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad. He bowled a miserly spell of two wickets for nine runs in four overs, including 18 dot balls, dismissing openers Travis Head for seven and Abhishek Sharma for a duck with slower deliveries. The performance, in an afternoon game offering little assistance to seamers,...