Australia is poised to enter the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) as the frontrunner, according to former Australian captain Tim Paine. Paine attributes this to India’s recent struggles with form and injuries.
Paine, who captained Australia in their previous two BGT losses, believes Australia’s stability and home advantage give them an edge. “Australia are going to start pretty strong favorites,” he said. “I think India have not been playing pretty well, their batting looks a little brittle.”
Paine also highlighted the absence of Mohammed Shami as a significant blow for India. “Shami is going to be a huge difference,” he said. “Bumrah, there is so much on his shoulders. If he gets hurt, then it’s curtains for me.”
Reflecting on India’s recent Test series loss to New Zealand, Paine expressed concern about their batting. “No. They (New Zealand) are not very good. Is that harsh? Unbelievable performance, no doubt about that. But that makes me worry a little about India, totally honest,” he said.
Paine also acknowledged India’s historic 2020-21 series win in Australia, crediting Cheteshwar Pujara as the series hero. “The guy who won them the series was Pujara,” he said. “He wore us down, he wore our fast bowlers down.”
India’s selectors have named an 18-member squad for the five-Test series, but Shami’s absence has forced them to field an inexperienced pace attack. Bumrah will lead the bowling unit, supported by Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, and Harshit Rana.
India’s first Test against Australia begins on November 22 in Perth, kicking off the much-anticipated series.
