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He suggested that the Aussies could go on and end the opening Test in Perth in four days and hinted at signs of unrest within the Indian camp.
Pat Cummins and Co will be hungry to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. (Image: AFP)
The former Australian all-rounder, Brendon Julian has come out with a bold prediction that India has a lot of ‘worrying signs’ ahead of the Border-Gavaskar series between India and Australia. He suggested that the Aussies could go on and end the opening Test in Perth in four days and hinted at signs of unrest within the Indian camp with Head Coach, Gautam Gambhir and senior stars like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Among the first major concerns was the burden of responsibility on pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah who would lead the Indian side in the absence of Rohit Sharma who is likely to be out of action for the first Test due to personal reasons.
“I think the Aussies will clean up India in four days. I think there are some worrying signs to India, we’ll talk about that,” Julian commented in a segment with Fox Cricket.
The former Aussie international suggested that Bumrah could be under pressure with his responsibilities as the lead pacer and the captaincy duties.
He shared, “Jasprit Bumrah, the opening bowler, is vice-captain and he will probably captain the side. Now that’s a lot of pressure on your opening bowler. I don’t think there has ever been a time when two opening bowlers have captained a Test series. That’s a lot of pressure on him”.
In addition, the former all-rounder suggested that Virat Kohli’s form is a concern. The number four batter in the Indian Test team has been far from his best and comes into this series under pressure to get some big runs on the board. But Julian is also confident that Kohli can indeed turn things around.
“The way that Virat Kohli got out in New Zealand, I mean for him to get out like that and in that Test series was unbelievable,” he said.
Julian also hinted that there might be signs of unrest within the Indian camp since the appointment of Gautam Gambhir as the Head Coach of the senior men’s national team.
“I think Gambhir the coach, I think there’s a bit of a problem with some of the senior players,” he mentioned.
“Kohli is not at his best, I think he is not gelling with the captain probably and the coach. But that having said, he could quickly turn it around. But if they start poorly in Perth, they could fall over.” he added.
India’s chances of securing a spot in the World Test Championship (2023-25) cycle’s finale are also under threat. The two-time finalists would have to win four and draw one game in the final five Tests of their season which is very much a tough task against a hungry Australian side who are desperate to get back against their rivals.
