After toiling through against a high-quality Kiwi pace attack in the 2-0 series loss in New Zealand, India's next Test assignment is also a very difficult one in Australia during this winter for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in December-January.
For Cheteshwar Pujara, the veteran Indian No.3, while there are unforgettable memories of the last trip when his three hundreds in a legendary series helped India come out triumphant for the very first time down under, he knows the task will be even more challenging on this occasion, especially with the return of David Warner and Steve Smith.
"It is one of the most important series for us," Pujara told PTI. "They (Smith and Warner) are important players but if we played the way we played in the last series, we should be able to beat them."
"(Indian) fast bowlers have to be fresh and ready for that series and I am sure their workload will be managed. Best part about the tour is that we recently played in Australia (2018-19). I feel that is the biggest advantage for us."
The surfaces too are expected to be more pacer-friendly than they were the last time. Brisbane will most probably host the first Test of the series, the venue where Australia hasn't lost a Test for the last three decades, and there will also be a D/N Test in Adelaide unlike the last tour when India declined to go ahead with the traditional pink-ball encounter.
Meanwhile, Pujara acknowledged the fact that teams, including India, don't do consistently well abroad these days and reasoned the significant rise in the amount of limited-overs cricket and its impact on the pool of quality Test cricketers available for the world's poor overseas fortunes.
"The importance of limited overs cricket has increased significantly. You are not getting too many quality Test players. Earlier, there was a lot of importance given to a Test series. Players used to take ample rest before that. Now we see so many injuries during the season."
"If you look India, Australia, England, the pool of players will be not more than 20-25 whereas if you talk about 10 years ago, India used to have 30-50 players who were ready for Test cricket. I am not saying there are no players available. But if they are ready for Test cricket or not, that is the question," he added.
(Inputs from PTI)
