INTERVIEW
Follow UsThe much-awaited Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 is just around the corner in what promises to be a blockbuster series. A wounded India will head Down Under in a quest to win their third consecutive series in the country, while for a few in Australia, including skipper Pat Cummins, it will be about beating India in a series for the first-ever time in their careers.
More importantly, a place at the World Test Championship (WTC) final is at stake. India will have to win at least four Tests in the series to make it to the summit clash for the third straight time. For Australia, who are currently at the top of the WTC standings, it could just be about winning the series, regardless of the margin.
While the cricketing circles were abuzz about this series, 3-4 months out, former Australia spinner Fawad Ahmed did not want to miss out on the fun. He spoke to Cricket.com to give his thoughts on the upcoming BGT, key players for India, how Australia can counter Yashasvi Jaiswal and more.
What are your thoughts on the BGT? What are you looking forward to the most, and who do you think will be the key players from both sides?
Well, it's going to be pretty even because India is a pretty good team, and now they got beaten at home by New Zealand. It's a different story and a different scenario, but their bowling attack is going to be pretty good here. I know [Mohammed] Shami is not here. So that's a big setback for them. So that's going to make it a little bit weaker. I know Jasprit Bumrah is so good. But I think in Test cricket, I would still say Shami is really, really good and that's a big setback for them.
So, even Australia are going to be hungry because they got beaten twice last time here on Australian soil. So they're going to be really hungry, too. A lot of players there are in really good form as well, playing Shield cricket. They're having a really good prep here.
I know India is going to come, but it's a completely different story for the touring team. You know, they have to adapt quickly while the local team, they are already playing a lot of cricket and then they're going to play a couple of A games against the A team as well.
So they already prepared. I will still give it to Australia. Because after losing to New Zealand, plus losing Shami as well, one of their main bowlers in this side, I think they [India] got on the wrong side.
Plus the form of Virat [Kohli] especially is a bit concerning for them as well. I know he's a fighter. He will come back hard. He always does really good here in Australia because something really, he loved the stage when it's the time I think he performed really well. So, he could be the best batter in the series as well. You never know. I’ll go 4-1 to Australia.
As you mentioned earlier, India going, they are going to the series at the back of a series loss at home – their first series defeat in 12 years. Do you think that Australia has a psychological edge of any sort?
I don't think so. It's, it's not like back in the day anymore. It's completely different. India is pretty much getting the same kind of hype here in Australia as well prior to coming because they are a big Indian community here. So they give a lot of importance to the players as well. Back in the days, it was completely different: a lot of sledging, a lot of, they always try to raise something here in Australia about the opposition players and to get them a little bit mentally and, on a, on the media side, you know, to keep them, put them on the back foot prior to the series.
But it's completely different now. Indians, they're pretty strong as well. The players every year they get together for more than two months, you know, in IPL and they play against each other a lot in the ICC trophies. Plus also every two years they're travelling to each other countries. So it's completely different now.
Many Australians have hyped Yashasvi Jaiswal, saying that he will be the biggest threat to them. How do you think Australia can target him?
They're pretty good with planning. That's the beauty of Australian cricket. They always come with a plan, and I guess against one of the best, there is the best in the business; it's not about targeting them; it's all about the 11 players, but you have to take 20 wickets to win the game. But, yeah, someone is doing really well, they will go, they do their homework, they will find their weaknesses.
So it's going be a big test for him [Jaiswal], especially as he has never played here. He's a great talent, but it's going to be testing times for him as well.
Hopefully, he plays well. As a cricketer, that's what I hope. But again, depends how he is going to respond to that and assess the conditions and it will show his character as well.
Speaking of Pat Cummins. You played with him for Australia A and also in the BBL. Did you know, back then, when you played with him, he would turn out to be the massive superstar that he is today? He's won the WTC, World Cup, and now he's one of the best bowlers in the world.
He has always been good from his first Test but got a lot of injuries. So he never played proper cricket for a long time. And yeah, we played that season together for Sydney Thunder the first season when he came back from the injury and then we were in the Test side together [vs West Indies] as well. He was on the bench; he didn't play, but he was in the side. And since then, he just never looked back, and he's been really good.
He was always good. From game one, you know, 18-year-old and taking six wickets away in South Africa [on debut] and then almost 10 years, he did nothing. So, for the next 8-10 years, he was in and out, in and out, in and out.
And now he's become a beast in the sense that he's played all formats plus IPL, and he hardly missed any games. He's going really well and performing well because the lifespan of the fast bowler is very small. So I'm not sure how far he's going to go, but again, it's amazing that he's playing really well.
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