'Hum Australia ko bhagayenge unke hi ghar mein: Former BCCI chief selector's bold prediction for Border-Gavaskar series'

Former BCCI chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma is confident that India will give Australia a tough competition in their own backyard during the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The series, scheduled to take place in November-December-January, will see India playing a five-match Test series in Australia for the first time since the early 1990s. Sharma believes that the Indian team is well-prepared and ready to make Australia work hard for victory on their home turf.

The last two times they toured Down Under, they came out victorious - something which no other had achieved before in two back-to-back tours in Australia. In fact, India have won the last four Test series against Australia to maintain a strong hold over the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Chetan Sharma, whose only bright spot was the Test series win in Australia in 2020-21 in an otherwise tumulous tenure as the chief selector that finally ended after a controversial sting operation in early 2023, believes India will have the upper hand even this time around.

The former medium pacer said India have changed the narrative over the past few years with their performance Down Under. "There was a time when we used to think about what would happen when we went to Australia. How will we perform? And for the last two tours, we went to Australia and beat them. Previously, Australia used to take us lightly but now they know they have to play out of their skins to beat India. We have built that reputation," he said in an interview with Rev Sportz.

Chetan said he is confident of a repeat of the 2020-21 series when India, despite injuries to a number of their first-choice players, went on to beat Australia 2-1 in the four-match series, which included a victory at the Gabba.

"We are currently the No.1-ranked team in the world. We will not only will give them a tough fight but we will make them run in their own backyard (hum unko bhagaynge unke hi ghar mein). I have a lot of confidence in the players," he added.

The trump card for India will once again be their bowling attack by Jasprit Bumrah, feels Chetan. This will be Bumrah's third Australia tour. While he will have Mohammed Shami - still recovering from an ankle injury and Mohammed Siraj for company, he is likely to be captain Rohi Sharma's most potent weapon.

"I have said multiple times that bowlers will win you Test matches. Right now, Tea India has the best bowling attack in the world. We have always had good batters. At times, in foreign conditions, you get pitches when teams get bowled out for 250-260. Do you have the bowling attack to get them out? We have seen it in recent times that we have bowlers to bowl the opposition out for even 150. Our bowlers are our trump card," Chetan added.

India will start their tour Down Under in Perth for the first time. In the previous two occasions, the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy was played at the Adelaide Oval.

This time, Adelaide will host the second Test (December 6-10), which will be a Day-Night affair. The third Test is scheduled to begin on December 14 at the Gabba in Brisbane. There were no changes in the venues of the Boxing Day Test and the New Year's Test with the MCG in Melbourne and SCG in Sydney taking the honours.