MUMBAI: He may have been going through a prolonged slump, but former India batter and currently a member of the BCCI’s Cricket advisory Committee (CAC) Jatin Paranjape has backed star batter Virat Kohli to come good in the highly-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which will begin in Perth from Friday with the first of the five Tests.
“Virat Kohli will have a very good series. He is due, he is a champion with a heart of a lion. Australia, beware,” Paranjape told TOI on Thursday.
The former Mumbai and India selector also felt that Shubman Gill, who suffered a finger injury while fielding in the slips during match simulation in the build-up to the first Test, could end up missing “two to three Tests.”
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“Gill suffered a finger injury during a match simulation and has yet not been ruled out of the Perth Test. I have not considered him in my XI (for the first Test) as I know from past experience that finger injuries, especially like the one he has suffered to the thumb take two to four weeks to heal, so don’t be surprised if he misses two to three Test matches,” Paranjape said.
He felt that Australia “will be in trouble” if any of their three experienced, classy par trio of skipper Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazelwood breaks down in the middle of the long series.
“I feel Rishab Pant and Alex Carey are two key figures for their team followed by the fitness of Cummins, Starc and Hazelwood. If one of them breaks down, Australia will be in trouble,” Paranjape said.
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He predicted a “great contest” between India’s young batting guns Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan and Abhimanyu Easwaran and the famed Aussie pace trio.
“The Indian batting line up is very attack minded and one can expect a great contest between Cummins, Starc and Hazelwood with the young turks like Jaiswal, Sarfaraz, Easwaran etc. I think Jaiswal v/s the Aussie fast bowlers will be a match up to watch out for. He will need a bit of luck on the helpful Australian pitches but he will attack relentlessly if given the chance. Unfortunately Rohit Sharma is away for the birth of his second child and will miss the first Test. To me, Jaiswal and the opening partnerships that he will be able to forge with Easwaran and then Rohit Sharma become a very crucial part of the puzzle,” Paranjape analysed.
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The Mumbaikar felt that the “drop-on pitches in Australia are unpredictable,” which means that India won’t be too worse off even if they lose the toss on Friday morning.
“The Optus Stadium in Perth will have a drop in pitch for the first Test match starting 22nd November. Personally, I feel that the drop-in pitches are unpredictable and while locals say that the pitch will have less bounce than the WACA pitch, I have my doubts. Let me put it this way, it won’t be a bad toss to lose,” Paranjape said.
Predicting India’s XI for the Perth Test, Paranjape said, “Jaiswal, Easwaran, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishab Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah (Captain), Mohd Siraj, Akashdeep.”