Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar reckons it will be tough for India to retain the Border-Gavaskar trophy as their veteran batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are not in their prime. Both Kohli and Rohit had a mundane two-match Test series against Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli has scored 2042 runs in 25 Test matches against Australia at an average of 47.48, including eight centuries. Kohli has even better numbers while playing in Australia as he has scored 1352 runs in 13 Test matches at an impressive average of 54.08, including six centuries.
On the other hand, Rohit has scored 708 runs in 12 Test matches against Australia at an average of 33.71 and he is going to hold the key as an opener in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar trophy. However, according to reports, Rohit could miss the opening Test against Australia due to personal reasons.
Speaking on the SportifyWithPRG YouTube Channel, “It might be a tough one. Virat and Rohit, both are not in their prime, they are not at the peak of their powers to be fair and others like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubhman Gill have to rise to the occasion. Rishabh Pant is the only one that I feel is in his prime and a very important player.”
Manjrekar reckons the Australians don’t carry the same aura as the previous teams of Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting.
“As for the Australians, the aura and ability they had in the past, where every game they played, they were like champions, is not there anymore,” he stated.
India has won the last two Test series in Australia and the visitors will want to replicate the same show.
The cricket expert added that Indian batting will decide the fate of the series.
“This series might just be a little more competitive than the last two tours, where Indian cricket reached a new high when they beat Australia. The Indian batting will, I think, decide the fate of the series,” said Manjrekar.
The opening Test match between India and Australia will be played at Perth from November 22 onwards.
