Approaching the start of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, India’s prospects loomed in uncertainty over the availability, fitness and form of some key players. Captain Rohit Sharma did not fly to Australia because his wife was expecting their second child. After protracted suspense, we now know he will miss the first Test starting in Perth on November 22.
Mohammed Shami will also miss that game. Out of cricket for almost a year for surgery and rehab, Shami came back with seven wickets in a Ranji match last week. But the BCCI has decided to put his fitness to more test before sending him to Australia.
Meanwhile, an injury to Shubman Gill in a warm-up game compelled a change in the batting line-up for the first Test on what promises to be a spicy Perth pitch.
The five-Test series is crucial for both teams on different counts. Qualifying for the World Test Championship final at Lord’s in mid-2025 is the crux of India’s campaign. This comes loaded with steep challenge after the shocking whitewash by New Zealand at home last month.
Before this rout, India were sitting pretty atop the WTC points table. Having slipped a place, they must beat Australia 4-0 to be guaranteed a place in the final. Metaphorically, it is like climbing Mount Everest in blistery conditions.
The India versus Australia rivalry, thoroughly one-sided till the 2000s, took a dramatic twist in 2001 when Steve Waugh’s marauding side failed to conquer the ‘final frontier’. Since then, the contests have got more intense and riveting. India zoomed ahead after 2017, signalling a major shift in the power matrix of the sport.
Time to step up: (From left) Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Sarfaraz Khan | AFP
Seeing the high degree of anticipation over the impending series, it could be argued that India versus Australia is perhaps even bigger than the Ashes!
So, how do the teams square up for this series? The quality of talent in both teams is more or less equal, which makes intensity of effort, sustenance of form over a month, and ability to handle acute pressure as crucial, if not more, than just cricketing skills.
These are the attributes that helped India overwhelm Australia four times in a row; these are the very attributes which were missing from India’s performance against New Zealand, which makes them appear wobbly, apart from the fact of Sharma and Shami missing the start.
The Aussies, sensing this vulnerability, have turned the heat on the Indian team. Broadsides have been fired at the tepid form of Virat Kohli, who enjoys cult status in Australia, as well as Sharma.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting had questioned the form of Kohli, sparking a war of words with India’s coach Gautam Gambhir. Former pace ace Glenn McGrath claimed that Kohli is under pressure and told the Aussies to go hard at him.
The Aussies sense rightly that if Sharma and Kohli are stifled, India’s chances of winning get considerably reduced. In the evening of their careers, these two, as well as R. Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja―who have been hugely responsible in making India the top team across formats for over a decade―have to prove that their prowess is undiminished. The need for a generational shift in Indian cricket, discussed in muted tones for the past couple of months, could become a clamour if the ‘fantastic four’ don’t pull their weight in this series.
What does it take to beat Australia? For former captain Ravi Shastri, the formula is fairly simple. Stare them down, sledge more than them, and be smarter than them on and off the field.
Shastri is not above some bombast, but his track record validates what he says. He was coach when India won in Australia for the first time ever in 2018, and perhaps even more memorably in 2021 with a team hit by injuries.
Here’s my SWOT analysis for India.
STRENGTHS
Till the turn of the century, batting was India’s strength, home or away. Remarkably, this has now been flipped. More sporting pitches in domestic cricket and subsequently the huge demand created by the IPL has resulted in a proliferation of bowling talent of high quality and variety. Most of India’s wins, and especially in Australia in 2018 and 2021, have been fashioned by bowlers.
The biggest gain has been in the pace department. India now boasts perhaps the best fast-bowling resources along with Australia. Leading the attack is Jasprit Bumrah, arguably the world’s most skilful and lethal bowler.
The support cast includes the aggressive and tireless Mohammed Siraj, and a host of ambitious youngsters in Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna and Akash Deep.
The spin department features Ashwin and Jadeja―who have almost 850 wickets between them―and Washington Sundar, who was the stellar performer against New Zealand at home recently. The Indian bowling is well-rounded and potent. The Aussies should not expect any respite.
WEAKNESSES
Basic scrutiny of India’s major setbacks in recent years―in the two World Test Championship finals, defeats at home to England and Australia, and most notably against New Zealand―reveals that the much-vaunted batting has failed.
On paper, India’s batting is still among the most formidable in the world. In high-pressure contests and situations, though, it has fizzled more than it has sizzled. After galloping to 27 Test centuries in eight years, Kohli has added only two more in the next five. His Test average has taken a severe dent, too. And though he has a fabulous record in Australia, he does not appear invincible as of yore.
Sharma, who can be sublime and/or destructive when in good fettle, suddenly suffered a dramatic slump in form in the past five Tests at home. As a leading batter, his form at the top is crucial to how the rest of the batting shapes up.
Rahul, also vastly experienced, has been in limp form. With the three big guns struggling, the onus gets heavier on the younger batters, a few of them on their first tour of Australia.
While the team has scintillating stroke-players, some experts say that India’s batting lacks the patience, resilience and dogged determination of batters like Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, who were key on the past two trips. How much will this hurt?
OPPORTUNITIES
Australia provides the most hostile environment for overseas cricketers. The assault from Australian players on the field, and from fans and the media beyond, is relentless and can be unnerving.
But the Aussies also take to their heart players who show the stomach for a fight. Given the challenges involved, success Down Under can make a young player into a superstar overnight, pushing good players to greatness as history suggests.
Kapil Dev in 1980-81, Sachin Tendulkar in 1991-92, Virender Sehwag in 2003-04 and Kohli in 2014-15 are some examples. Subsequently, they built on this to get into the hallowed portal of all-time greats.
The current team is flush with talented youngsters who can make this quantum jump. Rishabh Pant, with his wondrous exploits on the last tour, is the prime candidate to get into this cluster. For the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Gill, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Sundar and Siraj―some of whom have been around for a few years―this could be a tour that gives their career a soaring trajectory.
THREATS
These come from all quarters playing in Australia. On the field, India have to face a team seeking revenge for the humiliation of losing four series on the trot. Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood make for a deadly pace trio and, in spin, there is the masterful Nathan Lyon who, if not better than Ashwin, is not a whit behind.
There is the dazzling Travis Head, who almost single-handedly beat India in the 2023 WTC and ODI World Cup finals. And don’t forget Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Usman Khawaja and Mitchell Marsh, who make for a powerful line-up though there is a void at the top with David Warner’s departure.
Then there’s the constant, harsh and probing scrutiny by former players and critics, and the baying crowds who will want to unsettle the players. Don’t forget the pitches, with disconcerting pace and bounce, which have often seen the ruin of visiting teams.
The biggest threat to India comes from what Shastri highlights: self-belief. If India lack this, the series can’t be won.