India have travelled Down Under on the back of a 0-3 whitewash against New Zealand.
However, the team find itself in a precarious position this time around after losing 0-3 to New Zealand at home. Furthermore, India have been hit by injury and availability concerns ahead of the series opener.
While regular skipper Rohit Sharma will skip the Perth Test due to the birth of his newborn son, No. 3 batter Shubman Gill is set to miss the game after fracturing the thumb of his left hand during the match simulation at the WACA last week.
In Rohit's absence, pace spearhead and vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah will step in as captain. Sharma is expected to rejoin the squad before the second Test in Adelaide.
Despite these setbacks, former skipper Sourav Ganguly has voiced his confidence in India’s readiness for the five-match Test series, dismissing concerns about the team being "undercooked."
"Undercooked is a term used when you haven't played any Test cricket at all. They have just played five Tests in the last seven weeks so how does the question even arise?" Ganguly told PTI in an exclusive chat.
India lost three successive Test matches against the Kiwis in Bengaluru, Pune and Mumbai. This outcome also marked the end of their remarkable streak of 18 consecutive home Test series victories.
While Ganguly acknowledged the unexpected nature of defeat, he also emphasized the challenging nature of pitches.
"I can understand that the defeat against New Zealand was unexpected but you have to understand we played on some extremely difficult tracks. In Australia, the tracks will be good for batting," he said.
The former BCCI President also highlighted the need for India to return to playing on balanced wickets.
"I must say that we need to get back to playing on good cricket pitches at home. We should stop this habit of playing on rank turners. The batsmen lose confidence on such tracks and we have a team which can win Test matches on good tracks.”
"Also on turners, you need to learn to grind before you can attack. There are two types of tracks where you can't just hit through the line and get out of trouble. One is a seaming track and other being a rank turner," he explained.
Ganguly admitted that Gill's thumb fracture is a big ‘jolt’ for India, but he expressed confidence in the team's ability and mental strength to move past their recent shock loss.
"Shubman's injury is jolt for the team no doubt as he is an in-form batter and has scored in Australia. A thumb fracture could rule him out for two Tests. But I believe the other batters would step up in absence of Rohit (on paternity leave) and Shubman during the first Test. I don't think New Zealand defeat would have any bearing on this series," he remarked.
Sourav Ganguly advocated for seam-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy’s inclusion for the BGT opener in Perth.
"Look, there is absolutely no point in playing two specialist spinners either at Perth (Optus) or at the Gabba (Brisbane). You obviously need to find a way to play Reddy in these conditions. He is a good batsman and coming in at lower middle order, it will lend proper balance to the side," he stated.
Ganguly also felt that senior pacer Mohammad Shami should have travelled to Australia to feature in the BGT from the second Test onwards.
Shami made his much-awaited return to competitive cricket last week as he represented Bengal in the Ranji Trophy fixture against Madhya Pradesh. This was his first match since the ODI World Cup final in November last year, after recovering from an ankle injury.
The right-arm quick instantly made an impact, returning with seven wickets in the match. He also registered his highest First-Class score for Bengal, scoring 37 off 36 balls in the second innings.
"Shami bowled nearly 45 overs, fielded for more than 100 overs and also scored some runs. That's a good enough fitness test to be sent to Australia because you need a bowler of his calibre alongside Jasprit Bumrah."
(With PTI Inputs)