IND vs AUS: The much anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy would be an amazing contest when considered between the likes of the great Indian and Australian sides, the biggest among rivals. The tournament is about to take place over 5 matches between the two sides, with the first test to begin on the 22nd of November in 2024 at Perth.
The series will mark the return of some of the most highly considered cricketers in India, like Rishabh Pant and probably KL Rahul as well. Meanwhile, Yashasvi Jaiswal, the young Indian batting sensation, will be playing his first-ever BGT and an overseas test series in the SENA country.
Cricket legend and one of the greatest players of the ball, Brian Lara, recently backed young Jaiswal over his debut in SENA countries and also highly anticipated his dominant performance in Australia.
Lara backed, saying that Jaiswal can be a surpassing talent at the top of the order, and he can be a befitting talent and an epitome of India’s anticipated success in the series.
“For me, with the calibre of batters that India have got and the skill they’ve got, there’s no reason why they can’t combine that: putting pressure on bowlers, scoring quickly, but also not making mistakes, which we’ve seen those Indian batters, in particular Jaiswal [do],” said Watson while mentioning Jaiswal’s role in India’s dynamic batting lineup.
Also, alongside the great West Indian, Australian veteran all-rounder Shane Watson has also backed one of the Indian batters for the forthcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Watson, the veteran, has also starred around several Indian talents following his years of experience in the IPL and later his coaching years with the Delhi Capitals. During his days with the Capitals, he saw Pant and has backed him to return to his commanding form in the BGT, just like the last time they played in Australia, where Pant wreaked heavy carnage.
Despite Pant returning to the longest format after a span of nearly 600+ days, he excelled in the format for India as he scored a stunning hundred against Bangladesh. Watson said that Pant and Bumrah could be the heavyweight Indian players who could cause hindrance to Australia even on their own soil.
Watson said, “And we’ve seen Rishabh Pant come in and do it as well—take the game on, but also don’t give the opposition many opportunities to get them out.”
“Also, Bumrah is someone who, in Australian conditions—well, in all conditions really—he’s so good. [With] his ability to be able to just take wickets and get batters out, he’s going to be very effective in Australia as well. So those two guys, if they have big series, they can really provide Australia some big challenges.”
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Alongside praising the Indian cricketers, Shane Watson has also backed the veteran Australian test batter, Steve Smith, to continue in the role of an opener. Though Smith didn’t excelled at the top yet, Watson pressed on the fact that this has been a big deal to adjust to a new batting position; however, Smith can be an ideal choice in the spot as well.
“Obviously the safety blanket for him would be moving back to No. 4, but I would love to see him continue to take on the opening spot because he’s got the skill to be able to do it,” said Watson.
