India’s highly-anticipated Test tour of Australia got underway at the Optus Stadium in Perth on Friday (November 22).
Before the start of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, there was a lot of talk about Cheteshwar Pujara not being named in the Indian squad for the five-match series.
During the 2018-19 series Down Under, which India won 2-1, Pujara amassed 521 runs in four Tests. He aggregated 271 runs and took body blows to script India’s another series win on Australian soil in 2020-21.
However, legendary India all-rounder Kapil Dev is not one to get carried away by such sentiments. The 1983 World Cup-winning captain suggested that there's no point talking about missing Pujara when he is not part of the squad.
"Whatever the best team you have, you are making them play, and that’s it. One can then ask whether India needs players like Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar. Why not Don Bradman for Australia? Why talk about the people who are not in the team?" Kapil told Mid-day in an interview.
Ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah is leading India in the ongoing Perth Test against Australia as regular skipper Rohit Sharma decided to spend time with his family after the birth of his second child last week.
Kapil advised Bumrah to stay normal and not take the extra pressure of captaincy. "He (Bumrah) should stay as normal as possible and not look to do something extra. He should go with the flow, and over some time, he will learn. It's unfair to say, 'What more can he do?' I don't expect anything beyond what he encounters. Let the contest begin, and he will find his way. We must not burden him with expectations," he remarked.
Despite the absence of Rohit, senior pacer Mohammad Shami and the concerning form of Virat Kohli, Kapil Dev believes India have some strong points to retain the coveted BGT.
"If I look at India's strong point over the years, it would be the increase in their self-belief. Sometimes, you look over-confident, but the belief in the Indian team has improved. It is a critical component for any team looking to excel on the big stage," he said.
India handed debut caps to all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy and pacer Nitish Rana in Perth as they decided to leave out seasoned campaigners, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, from the playing XI.
Washington Sundar is playing as the lone spinner in India’s line-up, which also features Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel.
India’s playing XI for Perth Test: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah (c), Mohammed Siraj
