Virat Kohli (L) and Rohit Sharma© AFP
Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has backed the Indian workforce to have the “best chance” of profitable in Melbourne in opposition to a ‘anxious’ Australian facet within the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT). The most anticipated Test sequence of 2024 is evenly poised at 1-1, with India dominating Australia in Perth and the Baggy Greens bouncing again in Adelaide. The Brisbane Test was coated by darkish clouds and finally washed out by rain. With two Tests remaining and a spot within the World Test Championship ultimate at stake, Basit expects India to say victory within the Melbourne Test, which begins on Thursday.
“India will have the best chance to win in Melbourne. There can be two spinners in Melbourne and Sydney. Australia is concerned about the possibility of missing out on the WTC final if they lose in Melbourne. Australia’s two matches against Sri Lanka won’t be easy. If the batters make the same mistakes as in Brisbane and Adelaide, then India will be in trouble,” Basit stated on his YouTube channel.
Ahead of the fourth match of the five-match sequence, India bolstered its squad by together with uncapped Tanush Kotian to fill the hole left after Ravichandran Ashwin’s retirement.
India captain Rohit Sharma defined the rationale behind Kotian’s inclusion within the squad for the remaining two Tests throughout a press convention.
“Yeah, Tanush was here a month ago (for the Australia A series). And Kuldeep (Yadav), I don’t think, has a visa (laughs). We wanted somebody who could get here as quickly as possible. Tanush was the one who was ready and he played here,” the skipper stated.
“Not that Tanush is not good enough. He has shown in the last two years what he has done in domestic cricket. We really just wanted a backup in case, you know, we need two spinners playing here or in Sydney, you need a backup option,” he added.
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