edited by: Aditya Maheshwari
Last Update: January 29, 2023, 4:42 PM IST
This is what legendary Australian captain Ian Chappell feels India Rishabh Pant will be sorely missed in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The four-match Test series between India and Australia is going to be crucial for the hosts to seal their spot World Test Championship Final. However, the Asian giants will be without their star wicket-keeper batsman Pant who was recently involved in a horrific car accident and is recovering from injuries.
Pant played a key role in India’s historic win in Australia during the 2020-21 tour, where he played a match-winning knock to stun the hosts at the Gabba.
Chappell believes Pant’s unavailability is a big loss for the hosts as no one can replace him in the team due to his aggressive approach in red-ball cricket.
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“India also have some points to prove, not least to do with Pant’s replacement. The main thing India will lose in Pant’s unavailability is an excellent run rate, which comes from his combative aggression. There is no substitute for Pant’s desire to dominate the bowlers, so India will have to rely on their top batsmen to not only perform well but also maintain a good strike rate.”
The wicket-keeper batsman was the only Indian in the ICC Test Team of the Year for 2022 and was all set to play in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy but the car accident changed everything.
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Chappell suggests giving preference to Rohit Sharma and senior batsmen Virat Kohli To put pressure on Australia, Nathan Lyon will have to prove his superiority.
“One of the main tasks for Indian players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara will be to establish mental superiority over Lyon. If Australia cannot rely on Lyon to take regular wickets at an acceptable rate, their bowling will depend heavily on the ‘Big Three’.”
The visitors have picked just one spinner in the squad for the tour of India as they will rely heavily on their star-studded pace attack to get the job done, but given the spin-friendly pitches in India, it is going to be a tough task. Is.
“The confidence leading into the tour of Australia is based on the success of their fast bowlers which they won in 2004-05. Once again this needed to be tempered by the knowledge that success was largely based on two champions, Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie. So a lot will depend on the success or otherwise of Australia’s leading fast bowlers.”
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