It will not be an exaggeration if we say that India is in a situation almost similar to what Australia was the last time Virat Kohli’s men traveled through Australia in 2018-19. India will not have the services of its captain Virat Kohli for up to three Trials, as he would leave on paternity leave after the first Trial. There are still questions about the availability of several key players such as Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha and Ishant Sharma for the Test series. Obviously, Rohit is not part of the limited sides.
Australia, on the other hand, has been bolstered by the return of their top two hitters in all formats, Steve Smith and David Warner, who were not on their team when India beat them in both ODI and Testing.
While the absence of key players is sure to create a deep hole in India’s batting lineup, Smith believes India has enough firepower to fill the void.
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The former Australia captain named two hitters he thinks they can hold out in the absence of India’s big stars. “But I guess the beauty of the Indian team is that there are so many high-quality hitters,” Smith said during a virtual press conference facilitated by the Sony Network.
Smith praised Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul and praised them for their recent success at the IPL.
“You can look at someone like Mayank Agarwal in the IPL, just crushed, KL Rahul in the higher order as well. There are a lot of options out there for them, so look, you leave a hole for sure, but there are quality players to back it up, “Smith explained.
When asked about Kohli’s absence for most of the test series, Smith said: “I think with Virat and the test team. You know there are several players who can come in and do a good job ”.
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“Virat is obviously high quality, and we know how good he has been in all his forms over a long period of time, so he will certainly leave a hole, but I still think they have some quality hitters waiting. wings to fill that void. ”
During the last series of India Test in Australia, Smith was sanctioned for manipulating the ball and was unable to challenge one of his favorite opponents.
Will it make you hungrier? “I don’t know if it makes me hungrier. I’m always looking forward to going out, performing, and doing well. I guess it was difficult to see from the band and particularly with the team that was not doing so well, “he said.
He admitted it was difficult to see Tim Paine’s guys lose the series 1-2. “Obviously they would not have liked to lose that series. That was hard to watch, it was tough, but we certainly look forward to this series, two of the best teams in the world, two quality pacing teams and batting lineups, which makes for an interesting and exciting summer. ”
Sledding according to Smith is overrated in India vs. Australia contests, especially after all the players converge during the IPL and no one wants an awkward situation.
“People talk a lot about sledding and stuff, but really very little is happening today. I think that probably has a lot to do with things like IPL, ”he said.
“You know that IPL brings together players from all over the world, so for example, if you get stuck with someone one day, you might be playing with them a few weeks or months later. “… And then, it’s kind of a bit of an awake conversation, so honestly, not much happens these days.”
(With PTI inputs)
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