The first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is just three sleeps away and the excitement is building for what promises to be a cracking series between two quality sides. India have been training in Perth for more than a week now and the visitors have been rocked by some availability and injury concerns before the series opener on November 22.
There is a lot of chatter around the form of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma but former Australia cricketer Mike Hussey expects India to put up a solid show in the five-match series.
India likely to hand two debuts in first Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test vs Australia in Perth
In an exclusive chat with TimesofIndia.com, the former southpaw opens up on the series, India’s new head coach Gautam Gambhir, battle of two great off-spinners, and more.
Excerpts:
India have history on their side as they have won the last two BGT in Australia. Do you feel the buildup is a bit different this time around as compared to what happened during your playing days. Not many expected India to do well Down Under…
I think everyone in Australia is really excited about the series and fascinated to see what’s going to happen. I mean, yeah, India have won the last two times in Australia, so they’ll certainly take some of that confidence into into the series. And I think quite a few of the Australian players will be really, really up for it and really keen to do well and almost try and put the record straight, because we don’t lose too many times in Australia. So, it’s going to be a fascinating series. It should be high-quality cricket. And I think everyone in the country just can’t wait for it to start.
Over the years, the contest between the two sides has become one of the most sought after properties in the cricket calendar. You have played a lot of matches involving India and Australia… did you ever imagine that this will become as popular as The Ashes or a India-Pakistan contest?
The Ashes is always very special for an Australian and an English player as well. But, yeah, I’m not sure we can ever compete with India versus Pakistan. That’s a unique series, and the rivalry is obviously very strong there. But yeah, I agree. India has turned themselves into a real powerhouse of world cricket. Australia have been pretty strong over the last 20 or 30 years. So I think the rivalry has really grown. And, two great teams, two great nations, going head to head. That’s what everyone wants to see.
Talking about Australia. Pat Cummins and Co. have achieved literally everything possible within their reach. So you reckon this BGT will probably tick most of the boxes off for most of these players who, like their Indian counterparts, are towards the fag end of their careers. How important is this series going to be for the likes of Cummins, (Mitchell) Starc etc…
I think Pat Cummins has still got a fair bit of cricket ahead of him. He’s certainly not as old as a Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon, etc. So I think you’ll want to keep going for a fair few years yet. But I know what you’re saying. I think some of the players might see this as a their last opportunity to beat India in Australia. So that’ll offer them some motivation. But to be honest, you don’t need any extra motivation when you’re playing in a Test match. Test series against India in Australia… I mean, it doesn’t get much bigger than that, so I don’t think they’ll use it necessarily as extra motivation. But they’ll want to win and and finish their careers with victory against India on home soil.
Ravi Shastri, Rahul Dravid and now Gautam Gambhir. India have a new coach and he is set for the toughest challenge yet. What do you expect from the new Indian head coach since you have seen him very closely during your playing days and then during the IPL?
Similar to when he was a player… he was a great competitor and he would fight all the way for victory. And so I have no doubt, watching him, sort of being involved with the IPL and teams that he’s been involved in, he loves to win, and he loves to compete and I’m not expecting anything different from this Indian team. They’ve got some great fighters and some great competitors. So I’m sure his personality will come through with the way he coaches. And I think you need to have something like that in in Australian conditions. It’s not easy coming to Australia and competing with a strong Australian team.
And I think Ravi Shastri certainly brought that really competitive hard edge to the team when he was coaching the team as well, and real positiveness as well. Gambhir is someone that’s done well in Australia in the past as well. He will have fond memories of coming here. He’s a real fighter and a real competitor. And I’m sure he’ll bring that in this Indian team as well.
The last time India were in Australia, they had to deal with a lot of adverse situations. Player availability, injury and then a series during the COVID-19 period. Even this time around, there is a sense of unsettledness in the Indian camp with Rohit Sharma not playing first Test, no clarity over Mohammed Shami. Do you reckon the bowling will be overdependent on Jasprit Bumrah?
You think of the last series that India were in Australia, and they had a lot of adversity. They lost Shami early… . I think broke his arm and went home early as well. But they still managed to find a way and bring in new players and perform really well. And I think Ravi and the players need a lot of credit. Rahane led the team well and Ravi kept instilling his positive attitude in whoever came in… that they could compete and they could win in Australia. It’s all about the having the right attitude. We know there’s so much talent and so much depth in Indian cricket.
We’ve seen it so many times to ride off champion players… pundits come out and say that Rohit Sharma is finished and Virat Kohli is no good anymore. I mean, that’s just ridiculous. They’re legend, legendary players. They’re proud players. If you write them off, you’re just going to end up having egg on your face, because they will perform well again. They’re too good not to. I think it’s silly to write them off and write off the Indian team as well. It’s just not in my vocabulary.
Hardly any talk around the two but this series could well see two modern-day great off-spinners (R Ashwin and Nathan Lyon) up against each other for probably the last time in Tests. How excited are you to see them perform for their respective sides because they have left a stamp the way they have played in the previous few series wherever India and Australia have met.
I think they’ll both play really important roles for the team, and probably throw Jadeja in there as well. Nathan Lyon, we quite often say it as commentators, that he is actually the most important bowler in the Australian lineup because he can bowl a lot of overs. He can bowl in a attacking sense. He can bowl in a defensive sense. He allows the fast bowlers to rotate from the other end. And so he’s such a crucial part of the Australian team.
India prepare for tough Test series in Australia
I think Ashwin, he might have struggled the first couple of times that he came to Australia, like a lot of players do. A smart bowler and a smart man over time, and over more tours, will figure out how to bowl well in Australian conditions. And so I’m expecting if he plays the majority of the Tests, I’m expecting him to have a really good series. And play a really important role for India because if he can bowl really well and strongly at one end, then that enables the captain to attack from the other end, to rotate the fast bowls around from the other end. So it’s going to be a classic battle.
And I know we talk about (Jasprit) Bumrah, we talk about Starc and Cummins and the like but it could be how the spinners go head to head, that could be the difference between the two teams in the end, you know, because they both play such important roles.
You reckon India’s fragility against spin in the recent past could be weighing up on Nathan Lyon’s mind? World he be licking his fingers to have a crack at this Indian batting line-up?
The conditions in India are a lot different to what these they’re going to pop in Australia. You know that the pitches generally will be a lot faster and bounce here… probably take a lot less spin. Nathan Lyon will have to just bowl well, like he always does in Australian conditions. And when he does bowl well, he’s a real hand. The Australian attack just doesn’t rely on Lyon or just Starc. They see it as a real group mentality.
Talking on the group mentality, India too just can’t rely on Bumrah. It’ll have to be that group mentality for India to be able to win the series.
Gautam Gambhir, head coach of India, looks on with Morne Morkel, bowling coach of India, during the practice match between India and India A at WACA in Perth. (Getty Images)
How much of a role do you think ‘local boy’ Morne Morkel, who is settled in Australia, will have to instill that group mentality. He certainly would know a thing or two about doing well in Australia, right? A world class bowler himself and now India’s bowling coach.
It’ll be very important but at the end of the day, the bowlers have to go out and do the job. Monet’s got great experience about playing in Australia. He knows the conditions well. He’s performed well himself, so he knows what it takes to play well in Australian conditions. And so that experience will be invaluable, no doubt. And I’m sure he’s a he’s a great person, a great character, and he will pass that, actually pass that mentality under the Indian bowlers as well. But at the end of the day, the Indian bowlers have to do the job.
You think India-Australia contests have become friendlier than what they used to be back in the day? The IPL probably bringing the players close and helping them forge those friendships.
Both teams will really want to win for their countries, and you have pride in your own performance as well, whether they’re friendly to each other in the middle, or they’re not, or they’re, you know, angry at each other, I don’t think that’ll have any bearing on the series at all. I think, you know, once it comes down. It’s bat versus ball. It’s country versus country, and that’s all, that’s all that matters at the end of the day.
KL Rahul made his Test debut in Australia, had scored a hundred. A decade later, he is still struggling for consistency. What would be your advice to him?
He’s another fantastic player. So I guess, just to trust his game and to be confident with whatever he does, you know that’s the most important thing. We know how good he is. And so I guess there’s a lot of external people put these doubts in your mind, but I just hope that he just doesn’t worry about all the external stuff and just concentrates on his game, his preparation, and just tries to play his best possible cricket, because when he’s playing at his best, he’s one of the best players in the world.
And to be honest, that’s what we want to see in this series. We want to see two great teams with great players from both sides, you know, going at it head to head. I’m sure if he can start well in the series, get a good score under his belt early, then that’ll help his confidence the rest of the series.
What are your thoughts on the Australian camp. Opening combination, team balance… from the outside, you reckon they are in a settled space?
I think the team is pretty settled… There was a lot of talk in Australia about who was going to open the batting and it seems like they’ve settled on Nathan McSweeney to do that role. So I’m pretty sure that the Australian team is settled. They’ll just go about their preparation and be ready to go for Friday.
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