Former Australian Test captain Ian Chappell has expressed concerns about the Indian batting lineup ahead of the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. Chappell believes that if the Indian batters attempt to play over the top of the ball, they will be vulnerable to the extra bounce in Australian conditions.
India’s recent 3-0 series defeat to New Zealand at home has raised questions about the form of captain Rohit Sharma and star batter Virat Kohli. Chappell believes that the aging duo may be starting to decline, which could put pressure on the younger batters in the squad.
“India have got some batting problems,” Chappell said. “Kohli and Rohit Sharma are both ageing, and you get to that point where people start talking about it and maybe it starts to creep into your head a little bit.”
However, Chappell also acknowledged that the Indian batters will be playing on good pitches in Australia. He warned that the extra bounce could expose any technical flaws in their batting.
“The only thing I’d say against that is they’re coming to Australia where the pitches are pretty good, but there’ll be the extra bounce and if they have gone over the top then the extra bounce will find them out,” Chappell said.
India has won the past two Test series in Australia, but former Australian skipper Mark Taylor believes that the pressure is now on the younger batters to make big runs.
“They (India) have moved on Pujara and they’ve moved on Rahane, and they’ve left Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, their best two players, but all of a sudden they’ve had a bit of a rocky period… and that has put pressure now on the younger guys and also their lower-order,” Taylor said.
The 2024/25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy will see India and Australia play Test matches in Perth, Adelaide (pink-ball match), Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney from November 22 to January 7, 2025. It will be the first five-match Test series between India and Australia since 1991/92.
