IND vs AUS 2023: The Indian team is all set to take on Aussies in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy that will start on February 09, 2023, and will be played at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur. The men in blue are the defending champions and they will want to continue their dominant run against the Aussies in the upcoming series too. Last time around, in the 2020-21 edition, the Indian team was plagued with multiple injury issues, but they did not let this dampen their spirits as they outplayed the Aussies by a margin of 2-1.
Rishabh Pant was the chief architect of their famous Gabba victory in the year 2021. In the final Test match, which was played in Brisbane, Rishabh Pant led India's charge. The men in blue won the match by 3 wickets and Rishabh Pant finished with a score of 89 runs off 138 deliveries. The youngster scored at a strike rate of 64.49 and hit 9 fours and 1 six. Unfortunately, Pant will not be a part of the Indian team in the upcoming series. The Delhi Capitals skipper severely injured himself in a car crash that happened on December 30, 2022, and as of now, his return remains doubtful. Former Aussie player Ian Chappell has now opened up on the impact that Rishabh Pant brings to the red ball game.
Ian Chappell said:
India are really going to miss Rishabh Pant. The Australians will be happy. He is a counterattacker, the guy who keeps you awake are the guys who score quickly and change the game in one session. Pant was one such player.
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Rishabh Pant undoubtedly is brilliant as far as the red ball game is concerned. His fearless attitude has enabled him many times to bail India out of tricky conditions. In Pant's absence, the Indian cricket team has a tough task ahead of them. India need to choose one between KS Bharat and Ishan Kishan and they will have to be hopeful that the wicketkeeper makes an impact.
India Test Squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja (inclusion subject to fitness), Mohd Shami, Mohd Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav.
(Inputs from PTI)
