The right-handed batter Marnus Labuschagne has opened an upcoming challenge on the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
He remarked that underestimating India would be a disaster as the visitors arrived in Australia after a 0-3 defeat to New Zealand at home.
The 30-year-old Marnus Labuschagne said that India is low on confidence following a series defeat at Blackcaps, but he cautioned against underestimating the visitors ahead of the high profile Border Gavaskar Trophy.
He admitted that a less confident Indian team could be advantageous for Australia. India’s hopes of dominating a test series in Australia for the third successive time suffered a major blow after they were comprehensive beaten 0-3 at home, the first such instance in their cricketing history.
In Australia, the absence of captain Rohit Sharma for the series opener in Perth further compounded their troubles. Additionally Shubman Gill has been ruled out of the first test after fracturing his thumb during training.
“It’s really hard to judge; they played on completely different conditions, spinning conditions. But, I mean, having India come here on the back of a loss at home, that’s something that has never happened before.”
“So, I think that’s a good thing because they are probably a little bit lower on confidence, not coming off a Test victory, losing to New Zealand 0-3. That’s going to do a little bit of damage to their confidence,” Labuschagne said.
After a shock series defeat at home, Marnus Labuschagne believes India’s confidence has been dented #AUSvIND
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— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) November 19, 2024
“But, at the end of the day, they are a quality line-up, they are one of the best teams in the world. You can never underestimate a team like that,” he added.
Labuschagne cited how India overcame significant injury setbacks to script history during their last history during last tour of Australia.
Despite losing captain Virat Kohli after the test test, which they lost after being bowled out for 36 in Adelaide, India managed to defy the odds, despite losing multiple key players to injuries throughout the series.
“That’s what happened in 2021. The likes of Natarajan played. Siraj got his first crack in Australia. Washington Sundar played. Shubman Gill played those last couple of games. But, they were a quality line-up.
“They have shown that over a period of time you can’t ever underestimate the depth of Indian cricket. Anyone who gets the opportunity to play for India has done a lot of hard work to get into the side. To get into the team, you have to play a good player,” Labuschagne said.
Australia will also be without the services of Cameron Green, the star all-rounder has been ruled out of the entire series due to injury.
Adding to their uncertainity, Steve Smith who struggled as an opener, will return to his preferred no.4 spot. Nathan McSweeney have been included in Australia Squad and he is expected to open the batting alongside Usman Khawaja.
“He is Australia’s most successful player. His most successful position has been No. 4. So, to have him back in a position where he is comfortable and where he has scored a lot of his Test runs in a big series.”
“He understands the place and the situation of the game better. Over his career, being able to evade, when they do go to bouncer plan helps,” said Labuschagne.
The five-match test series will kickstart on November 22 while the second test will be played on a day-night format under the stadium lights starting on December 06.
The third test will be played in the Gabba which will be held between December 14-18. The fourth test will be played between December 26-30 at Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The fifth and final test at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3-7 will give a promising dramatic conclusion for the exciting contest.
