TOI Sports Desk
NEW DELHI: The Border-Gavaskar Trophy is the most talked about topic these days with former players and cricket experts expressing their views. Former England captain Michael Vaughan also joined the bandwagon and predicted the two key battles between the players.
Vaughan reckoned that Australia captain Pat Cummins against Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah versus Travis Head will be the battles to watch out for in the upcoming five-match series Down Under.
The left-handed Head has been India’s nemesis with his significant performances during the World Test Championship (WTC) final in 2023, followed by another impactful knock in the ODI World Cup final later that year.
With Rohit Sharma’s availability for the first Test uncertain due to personal reasons, Vaughan suggests that Bumrah might step in to lead the visitors in the Perth Test, set to begin on November 22.
“I’ve got Cummins vs Kohli, world-class. And I think Bumrah bowling to Travis Head, I think that is going to be a great contest, cause Travis will try and just moose it. And Bumrah will probably be captain for the first couple of games, don’t know when’s Rohit’s gonna arrive. Pound for pound, I think Bumrah is the best bowler in the world so I’m looking forward to that kind of confrontation,” Vaughan said on the Club Prairie Fire Podcast.
Speaking on the same podcast, former Australia wicketkeeper-batter Adam Gilchrist took a note of how Rishabh Pant took a special liking to Nathan Lyon during India’s last tour of Australia.
Legendary Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist opined on the same podcast how Rishabh Pant particularly excelled against Nathan Lyon during India’s last tour Down Under.
“Bumrah features funnily in my line versus Steve Smith. I think Smith looked quite switched on in the couple of games he played in those ODIs. He looked like he was ready to knock out a decent summer. He would be really happy to be back in his No.4 position, that would be a good match-up,” said Gilchrist.
“The other one, this was one quite interesting the last time they were out here. Rishabh Pant versus Nathan Lyon. That’s the GOAT, as far as off-spinners are concerned, from the Australian point of view. Does he try to draw him out of the crease, does he go flat. Rishabh can go through the gears as quickly as anyone, from complete defence to all out assault and attack on a bowler, so that would be fascinating,” he added.