New Delhi . No matter what the format, Team India's flag is flying these days. ODI World Cup runnerup and T20 champion India has now aimed to prove its superiority in the Test format also. Rohit Sharmaled Team India, which has decided to win the World Test Championship title, will first have to face Australia in the BorderGavaskar Trophy.
The last two tours were in the name of India, the important link of which was Cheteshwar Pujara, who will not be with Team India this time. In such a situation, not Virat Kohli, captain Rohit Sharma and young batsman Shubman Gill, but another young player can be seen in the role of the main batsman in the team.
The Indian team, which is in excellent form, will end its campaign in the race for the ICC World Test Championship with a fivematch Test series in Australia. The Rohit Sharmaled team will play a threematch Test series against New Zealand at home before leaving for Australia.
The fivematch Test series with Australia will start in Perth on November 22. India will have a chance to become the second team of this century to win three Test series in Australia.
India has won the last two Test series on Australian soil and now it would like to continue its winning streak. However, it may not be so easy for the Indian team in the absence of Cheteshwar Pujara. This batsman, who was out of the team, played an important role in both India's series wins.
During the 201819 and 202021 tours, Pujara scored 792 runs facing 2186 balls. He was the leading runscorer in the 201819 series. India won its first test series in Australia. In four Tests, the righthanded batsman had scored 521 runs with the help of three centuries and one halfcentury. He was the only batsman to score more than 350 runs in that series.
Pujara again batted brilliantly in that series of 202021. He was the fourth highest run scorer in the series. In four Tests he scored 271 runs with the help of three halfcenturies.
At present, Pujara is not a part of the Test team and he is not likely to be selected in the team soon, so the challenge against Australia will not be easy for Team India. But, former Australian cricketer Shane Watson, who knows the Indian team very closely, believes that the absence of Pujara will not be much of a problem for Team India, because they have a young option, whose style is certainly different, but the courage. Same as Pujara.
“I don't think there will be much change in India's batting,” Watson was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo at the launch of the International Masters League in Mumbai on Tuesday. “For example, when you talk about Pujara, he is someone who Don't make mistakes. Whereas you have seen many batsmen like that in India, like top order batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal, he has scored very fast, but he has not made any mistakes.”
Shane Watson said, “He has given the opposition very few chances so far to be able to get him out. I think if such batsmen come to Australia and play with aggression and pounce on the bad balls, they will attack the Australian bowlers. If you try to create pressure, in such a situation the result will not change much.”
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Image Credit: KhasKhabar.