ANI
Perth
Ahead of the first Test against Australia of the highly-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy, India skipper Jasprit Bumrah lauded youngsters in his team for their self-belief, saying that nothing is more heartening then the fact that they want to do the tough job for the team.
The first Test between India and Australia begins on Friday at Perth’s Optus Stadium.
Both sides, currently placed at the top two spots of the ICC World Test Championship points tally will be aiming to make their chances for the final stronger. While India seeks to bounce back after a rare, but humiliating home setback against New Zealand, Australia would be aiming to avoid a hat-trick of series losses to India at home.
Speaking during the pre-match presser, Bumrah said about the youngsters in the team, particularly all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy.
“Quite positive. They have a lot of self-belief and confidence. These youngsters are not confused or overawed. As a leader, you feel confident that they want to do the tough job and nothing is more heartening than this.”
Talking about the “spicy” wicket at Optus Stadium, Bumrah said, “We have to focus on what we have here. We have bowlers for a spicy wicket, who can make an impact in any situation. We do not focus on the negatives. If you perform well here, your level of cricket will go up.”
Aussies prepared: Cummins
Australia captain Pat Cummins also exuded confidence of his side’s preparations and brushed away concerns of going against new faces in the Indian camp because of a sense of “familiarity”.
The buildup around the five Tests to be played between two heavyweights has been surreal. Days before the series opener, both sides ramped up their preparations for the potential World Test Championship final-deciding series.
While Australia are sticking to their mainstays, India have decided to throw a couple of young faces into the mix for the challenging series.
Despite seeing newcomers, Cummins remains unfazed because of being familiar with their talent after playing against and alongside them in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
“Look, I think you always, you know, make plans for kind of a whole squad. You know, I think with most test teams, especially India, you know, you have got a lot of depth. Most of us have played IPL and seen how many newcomers come in and kind of step up straight away,” Cummins told reporters.
India would be without its designated skipper, Rohit Sharma, and possibly Shubman Gill, whose fitness remains a concern after he injured his thumb during a practice session.
“So, yeah, they are missing a couple of guys we are more familiar with, but we know whoever they pick is going to be, well, they obviously think they’re good enough for test cricket. So, yeah, we have done a bit of prep,” he added.
While India’s squad features a mix of experience and youth, Australia stuck with the majority of the faces who featured in the team for the past two to three years.
“It has basically been the same side for the last two or three years. So the week leading is very normal. It is all very relaxed. Everyone knows how they need to prepare. So it is pretty seamless, you know, all the meetings, training, all those kinds of things. We have done it heaps before with the same people,” he said.
“So, yeah, it is just about kind of reaffirming what we do really well. But I think that’s been one of the strengths of our team is not only the consistency, but how well everyone gets on and how much we love playing together,” Cummins noted.
Teams (from)
IndiacTypeface:> Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar.
Australia: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc.
