In another two days, the much-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Series will kick off in Nagpur with Team India aiming to win the series by convincing margin to book their spot in the World Test Championship final. India will be without the services of three of their key Test players – Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, and Shreyas Iyer (only one match), which might just make it difficult as well for India to make their perfect XI for the Australia tie. But former India head coach Ravi Shastri believes that India’s fate will be down to one man’s form, hailing the star cricketer as a “package”.
This is the first time India will be hosting the Border-Gavaskar series since the 2017 contest, and will be aiming to retain the trophy for the fourth successive time. Shastri, under whose tutelage India won back-to-back Test series in Australia, feels that Ravichandran Ashwin’s form will play a major role in deciding India’s fate in the series. Speaking during an interaction organised by Star Sports, the official broadcasters of the Border Gavaskar Trophy, he opined that of the all-rounder is in fiery form against the Aussies, India are certain to script a series win.
“Ashwin, you don’t want him to over-plan. He is good enough to stick to his plans as he is real crucial player here. His form might decide the series. Ashwin comes as a package, he will get you important runs as well,” Shastri said.
“If Ashwin is on fire, that might decide the outcome of the series. He is world class in most conditions but in Indian conditions, he is lethal. If the ball starts spinning and there is enough bite off the surface, he will trouble most batters. So, you don’t want Ashwin to over-think and try too many things. Just keep it there and let the pitch do the rest because as it is, it does enough in India,” he added.
Shastri also gave his verdict on the much-debated third-spinner topic. He backed Kuldeep Yadav over Axar Patel for the role.
“As far as third spinner is concerned, I would like to see Kuldeep play straightaway. Jadeja and Axar are pretty similar bowlers. Kuldeep is different. If you lose the toss on Day 1, you need someone who will give it a rip. If anyone spins it one Day 1, it will be Kuldeep. If the track doesn’t have too much on offer, then Kuldeep can come into play,” he explained.
