The Indian team is shaping up well for their upcoming tour of Australia where they are slated to play five Tests as part of the ICC World Test Championship. The series, played for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, will be the last such for India in ongoing WTC cycle (2023-25) as they target a third straight final appearance.
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India have happy memories from their previous two tours of Australia. In 2018-19, they created history by winning their first ever Test series on Australian soil with a scoreline of 2-1 which they repeated in 2021-22 under more challenging circumstances with majority of their first-choice stars missing by the time of the final match of the tour owing to various reasons.
Prior to that, India will be playing five Tests at home – two against Bangladesh and three against New Zealand. India will be aiming to strengthen their claim for another top-two finish in the WTC points table by reasserting dominance at home through these matches and also get their top stars back into red-ball mode.
While the team will be full of confidence in Australia, former India wicketkeeper-batter Deep Dasgupta feels that the BGT 2024-25 will be a much closer affair with a full strength hosts desperate to reclaim authority in their own backyard.
“Yes (if India will win). But it’s going to be a lot closer than the last couple of series, which India won in Australia because I thought the last couple of, obviously the first one, 2018, Warner and Smithy, all these guys weren’t available. Then, the last one, I don’t think there was something wrong with that Australian setup back then,” Dasgupta told talkSport.
“I mean, with Pat Cummins in and you know, all those guys, I think it’s a better team and a more cohesive Australian side as compared to the last time when India toured. India, I still would say would have the edge with experience and everything,” he added.
Dasgupta though feels that India’s success, like their previous two tours of Australia, will rely heavily on the performances of their pace battery.
India boasts of a world-class pace attack but two of their leading men in this department have had fitness issues. Jasprit Bumrah underwent a major back surgery at the start of 2023 which kept him away from cricket for a significant period and Mohammed Shami hasn’t played any competitive match since the final of last year’s ODI World Cup as he recovers from an ankle issue.
“…a big question mark for me is India’s, see India’s success outside India is on the back of Indian fast bowlers. Shami has been injured. He hasn’t played any competitive cricket as yet, as we record this. Bumrah, we know he’s been off and on with injuries and stuff like that. Will he be fit enough to play all five test matches? So the next lot, (Mohammed) Siraj and all are coming in. But I mean, again, if India can put all those three guys for all those five test matches, I’d say India’s got the edge,” he Dasgputa said.
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