The wait is all but over for the India vs Australia series. Come Friday, the rivalry will once again be renewed when the Indian cricket team gets down to defend the Border Gavaskar Trophy. India have been dominating Australia in bilateral series since 2016-17. Since then, India have defeated Australia in 2018-19, 2020-21 and 2022-23. This time, however, things are different. India are reeling from a 3-0 cleansweep by New Zealand in their own den. India's designated captain Rohit Sharma is all but guaranteed to not play the first Test while there are injury concerns about some players.
There is also another major difference. This time India are without Cheteshwar Pujara who was rock solid with the bat in the previous series against Australia.
Former India captain and coach Rahul Dravid was specifically asked about the No. 3 slot in the current team, something that he and Pujara nade their own when they played. Dravid backed Shubman Gill to excel in the position.
"Well, they've got Shubman Gill, who is a terrific player. He's had some great success in Australia the last time. Everyone talks about Rishabh's 80 [89] and rightly so, but I think Shubman got 91 to set the game up on that fifth morning. So no, he's a fine, fine player, he's a great kid, and he's learning. Bats differently, slightly, to me and Pujara, but still a very, very good player," Rahul Dravid told ESPN Cricinfo.
"Runs on the top will be important. Now whether it comes from one, two or three or four, it doesn't really matter. You're going to need one of that top four or two of the top four to have a great series. That really helps in Australia. With the Kookaburra ball and those conditions, if you can get through that initial period and have your top four soak in a lot of that period, it really allows your lower order to be able to control and dominate those games."