Former Indian cricketer Deep Dasgupta is looking at the off-the-field controversies differently as he believes that Australia is doing it to keep Team India's focus off the home team's woes.
According to him, the Australian skipper Tim Paine is under tremendous pressure after losing in the Boxing Day Test to an Indian side that is not playing at full strength.
The off-field issues currently are more in the news and are talked about rather than what’s wrong with the Australian side that failed to beat an Indian team without the likes of Virat Kohli, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, and Umesh Yadav, who couldn’t bowl in the second innings.
They are so desperate to find something that they are pushing David Warner to play even though he’s stated publicly that he’s not a 100% fit for the Sydney Test.
Deep Dasgupta told Sports Today, “That's what they (Australia) want. They want us not to focus on the Australian team. David Warner is not a 100 percent fit. He has told the world about it in a press conference. But they are pushing him. That's how hard-pressed the Australian side is. Steve Smith is not scoring runs. Marnus Labuschagne is looking different. Let's do that now, focus on the Australian side.”
“Tim Paine is under tremendous pressure. They almost have their full side and they have to win this,” he added.
But he was quick to point out that the positive Team India will gain from all this is that the off-field matters with bringing the Indian players closer and the team bonding will be stronger.
“I don't know what the result will be. India can go on to win, they might lose the next 2. But these incidents will again galvanize the team further. I think they will get a lot closer after the incident. This will only help the team get together,” the 43-year-old said.
The third Test in Sydney starts on Thursday, January 7.
(With inputs from Sports Today)
