Playing at residence, India will go into the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as favourites however former South African JP Duminy says Australia might trump the hosts 2-1 within the much-anticipated Test rubber.
India might be with out two of its key gamers in Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah, however premier all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja might be again to the motion after a knee surgical procedure.
The Test collection will start on Thursday in Nagpur.
“I see it as a very close series, but I genuinely think that Australia stands a good chance. They certainly have been the team to beat,” Duminy mentioned throughout a digital interplay, facilitated by SA T20, the place he coaches the Paarl Royals crew.
“I feel it would be 2-1 to Australia and for me the Player-of-The-Series would be Usman Khawaja,” he mentioned of the Australian left-hander, who hit a career-best unbeaten 195 in opposition to South Africa in Sydney Test in January.
Duminy was fast so as to add that one can by no means “write off” India in its residence circumstances.
“You think about (Ravichandran) Ashwin who has a prolific Test record in India, he’s probably going to be the key for them. When it comes to Test cricket, you have got to utilise your resources. Guys like (Cheteshwar) Pujara and Virat Kohli are prolific in Test cricket. They churn out runs after runs. It’s an opportunity for those guys to step up.”
India’s ‘Mr 360’, Suryakumar Yadav has been in sensational kind within the T20 format and is a part of the Test squad.
Asked whether or not he’s primed for a Test debut, Duminy mentioned: “Probably he’s one of the most exciting players for India right now. From the way Test cricket is going, as a country you need to decide what the line of cricket you would be playing. And if it’s of the attacking mindset, then he becomes an option, certainly.”
There has already been a debate over whether or not India performs to its energy and prepares rank-turners for the upcoming four-Test collection. Duminy feels it’s truthful to play to your benefit. “That’s the beauty of having a home series. You have the opportunity to play to your advantage. Why would you not? It would be silly to think that you would not want to utilise that (rank-turners) in your favour.”
“I certainly see that will be the case in the series. Whenever you travel to the Sub-continent that’s always something you face. You need to be able to prepare for that. If you want to be the best in the world, you have to be able to perform in all conditions,” he asserted.
Pandya can develop into a terrific participant for India throughout codecs
Ace India all-rounder Hardik Pandya is seen as a white-ball maverick however Duminy sees no purpose why Pandya can not develop into an all-format participant. “I’m always going to advocate all formats if the player has the ability to influence the game. I’ve played with him as well, and I think he has the ability to be a great player for India across all formats. I would certainly encourage him to do (play) all formats.”
Source: sportstar.thehindu.com