The last two times India have stepped onto Australian soil for a Test series, they’ve left as winners.
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In fact, India have won their last four Test series against their bitter — but well respected — rivals Australia, having also beaten them twice on their own home turf since 2017.
But in the words of Indian commentator and journalist Harsha Bhogle, this time around: “It’s different.”
“There’s some younger players coming through; this is one of the more difficult places for a young player to come and build a reputation,” Bhogle told foxsports.com.au at the launch of Australia’s Summer of Cricket on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports.
“Even someone like Rishabh Pant who’s come here before is still young, Shubman Gill is still young, Yashasvi Jaiswal has never played here; he’s a rare talent, but he hasn’t played yet.”
How the likes of Jaiswal, Pant and Gill will fare this tour is just one of many questions hovering over the Indian camp heading into the first Test, as injuries, absentees and form all cast uncertainty over Gautam Gambhir’s side.
This is India’s State of Play ahead of Friday’s first Test against Australia in Perth.
THE ENIGMA THAT IS YASHASVI JAISWAL
He’s played 14 Test matches, but some Australian cricket fans would never have heard of Indian young gun Yashasvi Jaiswal.
At 22 years of age, the left-handed opener has done more than just burst onto the international scene — he’s made it his own.
Jaiswal’s red-ball career at the top level started with an incredible stay at the crease — grinding out 171 runs from 387 balls and an eye-watering 501 minutes against the West Indies.
Five Tests and seven months later, he went even bigger — twice.
In back-to-back matches, against England, Jaiswal hit scores of 209 and 214 not out (second innings), with the latter score including an equal-record of 12 sixes.
He is a serious, serious talent that has a ceiling like so very few; but Bhogle has flagged one part of his game that is still unproven.
“I think a lot will depend on how much the ball seams here; he struggled a little bit in South Africa (this time last year),” Bhogle revealed.
“I don’t want to talk up the kid yet, because he’s had a great start — but if there’s one place you want to prove your credentials, it’s here.
In the two-Test series Bhogle is referring to against South Africa, Jaiswal averaged 12.5 in his four innings with scores of 0, 28, 17 and 5.
It’s absolutely a small sample size, but seamer Nandre Burger held the wood over him on his maiden tour to the country, dismissing him three out of four times; twice caught behind.
Australia’s fast bowling cartel will be the last in the world to let the young gun off easy, as Bhogle points out.
“They won’t give him an inch; Cummins Starc and Hazlewood are not going to give him an inch, and they’re going to be there every bowl,” the Indian journalist explained.
“The one thing you get with this trio of Australian bowlers, is you don’t get too many boundary balls. He’ll have to learn, but that’s what life is, no?
“I’m excited for him, but I do understand it’s a big learning curve for him.”
One way or another, Australia will come to learn of Yaiswal very quickly — but if the young talent can learn from the likes of Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli on their first tours down under, watch out.
JUST HOW MUCH PRESSURE ARE KOHLI & SHARMA UNDER?
It’s the elephant in the room this series — how will Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma respond to questions over their form?
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“It’s being suggested there’s also some players at the evening of their careers, and they will want to show that the flame burns bright,” Bhogle told foxsports.com.au on Tuesday.
“Every time Virat Kohli comes to Australia, something good happens for him. So if he’s going to do well somewhere, it’s going to be here — he likes these pitches.
At 36 years of age, he has barely averaged 30 on his home soil since the turn of the decade, and averages just 22.72 in 2024 from six Test matches.
Bhogle made reference to India’s tour of Australia in 2011/12 on what he hopes to not see this series, as veterans such as Kohli, Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin edge further into the twilight of their careers.
“It could be similar to 2011/12, where India came to Australia with a lot of hope, but there were a lot of players coming to the end of their careers. I hope it’s not like that this time,” Bhogle revealed.
“We were always told they’re the best batting pitches in Australia, but we’ve struggled with the bounce in the past. I think this generation doesn’t struggle as much as earlier (Indian) teams; that’s what I’d like to believe.
Indian modern-era greats Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman went into retirement after the fourth and final Test against Australia in 2012; in a series where the hosts whitewashed the visitors 4-nil.
Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag weren’t far behind the aforementioned duo either, retiring the very next year at different points in 2013.
Captain Sharma, 37, will miss the first Test in Perth after staying in India for the birth of his second child, and will re-join the squad for Adelaide’s day-night Test next month — meaning Kohli, 36, will face the music without his longtime veteran bat in Perth, in desperate search for a change in form.
“We always said when Rahul Dravid was playing, it was England to the rescue — and I think with Virat Kohli, it’s always Australia to the rescue,” Bhogle colloquially explained.
“The conditions here suit him so much, it’s just a question of where the sun is in his career at the moment; whether this is going to be the start of a new phase in his career, or whether it’s going to be the end — that’s one of the most fascinating things in this series.
Only three of Kohli’s Indian counterparts have every scored more Border-Gavaskar runs than he has — Sachin Tendulkar (3262), VVS Laxman (2434), and Cheteshwar Pujara (2033); with the former captain only 54 runs behind the latter.
In other words, Kohli just knows how to perform against Australia, and he certainly knows how to make big scores — something he’s been short of lately.
So has this tour come at the perfect time for the Indian superstar?
“Yes, especially because he was he struggling in home conditions; he struggled against the turning ball a little bit,” Bhogle said in agreeance.
“When you’ve got players like Kohli, everything about them is looked at through a different lens. If he’s had one bad series, suddenly it gets talked about much more than if someone else has a bad series.
“But if there’s one place you back in to do well, it’s here.”
HOW DOES THEIR BOWLING ATTACK COMPARE TO AUSTRALIA’S?
In the words of Bhogle, Australia’s four-pronged bowling attack of Mitchell Starc, Patrick Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon is “the greatest bowling quartet that’s ever played.”
So how does India’s equivalent compare when it returns serve?
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Stand-in captain for the first Test Jasprit Bumrah is far and away their biggest threat with ball in hand this summer, having run rings around Australia in his two previous tours to the country.
His unorthodox action and delivery of the 156g ball has made even the world’s best look silly, and there’s nothing to suggest he won’t do so again.
The quicker and bouncier nature of Australian pitches makes him all the more difficult to negate — but who else is there to support him at the other end?
If fit, longtime teammate Mohammed Shami will absolutely join forces with Bumrah this summer — but that won’t be until at least the second or third Test; if at all as he returns from injury.
Right-arm quick Mohammed Siraj will almost certainly be selected come Friday for the first Test, and was commendable in his only tour to Australia in 2020/21, taking 13 wickets at an average a tick under 30.
That presumably leaves one spot left in the XI for a third and final quick, which looks set to be filled by one of Akash Deep or Prasidh Krishna.
Akash has taken 10 wickets in his five Test matches to date at an average of 25.80, while Krishna has played just the two Test matches — both against South Africa just less than 12 months ago in a tour that didn’t provide a plethora of opportunity, despite playing.
Krishna proved a handful at times for Australia A in recent tour games with 10 wickets in two matches, but Akash has been preferred in the starting XI as recently as this month against New Zealand.
And then there’s the spinning conundrum, with all of Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and Washington Sundar fighting for seemingly two spots.
Gut feel says Jadeja is the likeliest of the trio to play in the starting XI, and is set to slot in at seven as a bowling all-rounder.
Ashwin’s record in Australia isn’t currently something to write home about, with an average of 42.15 spanning across three tours in the country.
That being said, at 38 years of age and the oldest player on either side, he brings a wealth of knowledge to the side and added batting depth; having scored his sixth Test century only two months ago against Bangladesh.
13 years his junior, Sundar made his epic Test debut against Australia last series in Brisbane, in a match where he took four wickets and made a crucial 89 runs.
With a bowling average under 24 with his off-spin at Test level, Sundar, 25, has proven himself as a viable spin option for the next dozen years if he has the same longevity as someone like Ashwin.
But whether or not the Indian selectors pull the trigger on him over his veteran teammate on Friday remains to be seen; although it seems highly likely that regardless of whether he plays the first Test, that the Australian public will see him in action at some point this summer.
SQUADS
Australia squad (for First Test): Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar
Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, KhaleelAhmed
HOW TO WATCH
All five games will be broadcast LIVE to Foxtel and Kayo on Australia’s only dedicated 24/7 cricket channel FOX CRICKET.
Kayo Sports has announced the return of a dedicated Hindi feed during the upcoming Test series, reinforcing Foxtel Group’s commitment to promoting the accessibility and diversity of sport for all Australians.
