New Delhi, November 12
Former Australian captain Brad Haddin opined that Indian batters will struggle against the star-studded bowling line-up during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, pointing out that opening during the first Test in Perth would be a "hard work" for young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who is making his first trip to Australia.
The first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will be played at Perth's Optus Stadium from November 22 onwards. The series is extremely crucial for both sides' ICC World Test Championship final chances. While Aussies will be aiming to get a good start in their bid to prevent a hat-trick of series losses to India at home, the visitors would also be charged up after a humiliating whitewash series loss to New Zealand at home in the three-match Test series, their first Test series loss in home conditions in 12 years.
Speaking on the Willow Talk Podcast with Australia's T20 winning skipper Aaron Finch on Monday, Brad said, "I do not think that the Indian batters are going to stand up to our quicks. I know Jaiswal is a really good player, but he has not come out and seen Australia before, so I am not sure whether he is going to handle the bounce. Opening in Perth is hard work."
In 14 Tests since his debut last year, Jaiswal has made a reputation as one of the most ferociest Test openers in a long time, capable of scoring fast and big both. He has scored 1,407 runs at an average of 56.28, with three centuries and eight fifties and best score of 214*.
However, his only trip to SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) countries, to South Africa from December 2023-January 2024 was dissappointing, scoring just 50 runs in four innings with best score of 28. These tours hold a lot of significance to any Indian batter as they have been places where India has struggled largely since becoming an international side.
With a 3-0 series whitewash against New Zealand at home, India need to win the series by 4-0 to punch their ticket to feature in London for the WTC final for the third successive time directly.
After the conclusion series opener in Perth, the second Test, featuring the day-night format, will take place under lights at Adelaide Oval from December 6 to 10. Fans will then turn their attention to The Gabba in Brisbane for the third Test from December 14 to 18.
The traditional Boxing Day Test, scheduled from December 26 to 30 at Melbourne's iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, will mark the series' penultimate stage.
The fifth and final Test will be held at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3 to 7, promising an exciting climax to a highly anticipated series.
India's squad for Border-Gavaskar Series: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar.
Australia squad for the first Test: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc.