India to play 5 Tests in Australia for the first time since 1991-92 tour.
Sunil Gavaskar, former India captain, expressed dismay on how apart from Ravi Shastri, none of the former or current Indian cricketers are countering Australians as they have started mind games ahead of the five-Test series down under later this year.
India is scheduled to travel to Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 which will comprise of 5 Tests for the first time between the two teams since 1992. Australia last won the BGT in 2014-15 at home, and since then India has held onto the trophy.
India even defeated Australia 2-1 in the back-to-back Test series in their backyard in 2018-19 and 2020-21.
Australia – the current world Test champions – though will be itching to lay their hands on the trophy and their mind games have begun with several of their current and former cricketers giving statements about the upcoming series.
Sunil Gavaskar thinks that the response to the Australian mind games hasn’t been proportionate from their Indian counterparts and apart from Ravi Shastri, there’s nobody who has put up a strong response yet.
“The five Test matches that India play (at home) before they go to Australia will be good for the mental tuning that is required for a tough tour like that. Already the mind games have begun with Australian players both current and former airing their views about what the result would be.
While they (Australia) are not making Glenn McGrath-like statements of a clean sweep they are still suggesting that Australia will prevail. Sadly, apart from Ravi Shastri, no other former or current player has seen to counter the mind games which the Aussies are so good at,” Gavaskar wrote in his column in Mid-day.
Gavaskar even suggested an excellent counter for Australia’s mind games saying that R Ashwin should begin speaking on how he has been developing a ‘special delivery’ to keep Australia’s best Test batter of the current era Steve Smith.
“Maybe Ravichandran Ashwin should start telling us about a special delivery that he is developing for Steve Smith, that is of course if he continues to open the batting and can survive Jasprit Bumrah,” Gavaskar wrote.
Ashwin has dismissed Smith eight times in Test cricket – the joint second-most after Stuart Broad, who sent back the ex-Australia captain to the pavilion a record 11 times.