3 areas where India's 2024-25 BGT squad is weaker than that of 2020-21
India's squad for the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy was announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India on Friday, October 25. Rohit Sharma will lead the 18-member squad, while seasoned pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been named the vice-captain.
Bengal batter Abhimanyu Easwaran has been rewarded for his consistent domestic performances. Pacer Harshit Rana and young all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy have also been named in the Indian squad for the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, as is tall right-arm pacer Prasidh Krishna.
India's last visit to Australia for a Test series was in 2020-21. The tour turned out to be a memorable one, as the visitors got the better of the Aussies 2-1 to register their second consecutive Test series triumph Down Under. In the wake of the Indian team for the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy being announced, we analyze three areas where the squad is weaker than the one picked for 2020-21.
#1 Most of India's batters are in shockingly poor form
The biggest concern for India heading into the 2024-25 Border Gavaksar Trophy would be the overall poor form of their batters. Having hammered Bangladesh 2-0 at home, the Indians would have been confident of getting the better of New Zealand in another home series, but that hasn't been the case.
One of the prime reasons for India's unexpected performance against the Kiwis at home has been the lack of contribution from their batters. The hosts have suffered some shocking batting collapses against New Zealand. They were 46 all out in the first innings in Bengaluru and lost seven wickets for 54 runs after a fightback in the second innings. In the first innings in Pune, they folded up for 156.
Looking at the individual form of batters, skipper Rohit Sharma has one half-century in his last eight Test innings, while Virat Kohli has one fifty-plus score in his last 10 Test knocks. Further, Shubman Gill has two centuries in his last seven Test knocks but hasn't reached 40 in his last four visits to the crease.
KL Rahul, who has also been retained for the Australia series based on his experience, is an enigma of a different kind. He has a Test average of under 34 after 53 matches. Rahul has crossed fifty only once in his last six Test innings. In short, barring Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant, none of the other prominent batters would go with Australia with much confident with regard to their batting.
#2 Cheteshwar Pujara-like anchor missing
The fact that India's selectors haven't gone back to Cheteshwar Pujara for the Australia series despite his impressive domestic performances is understandable. Such a move would have been viewed as a step in the backward direction. At the same time, it's true that India don't have a player like Pujara in their squad, who could wear down the opposition by anchoring the innings.
Pujara was instrumental in India's last two Test series wins Down Under in 2018-19 and 2020-21. He was the leading run-getter in the 2018-19 series as India registered their maiden Test series triumph in Australia. In seven innings, he scored 521 runs at an average of 74.42, with three tons. He faced a staggering 1,258 balls, holding one end up and allowing the others to play around him.
He wasn't as prolific in terms of numbers in 2020-21. However, he contributed 271 runs in eight innings, with three half-centuries. This time, he faced a total of 928 balls. India have a number of big names in their line-up for the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. But it's difficult to pick one player who cna anchor the innings in the manner Pujara did.
#3 Too many untested names
By the time the fourth Test of the 2020-21 series was played at The Gabba, India were forced to field a number of young players due to multiple injuries. However, they had started the series with a near-full strength squad, with Kohli captaining in the first Test before going on paternity leave.
In contrast, if we look at India's squad for 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, there are too many untested names. Easwaran, Harshit and Reddy are yet to play a Test match, while Prasidh Krishna has played only two, Akash Deep four and Dhruv Jurel three.
Further, while Yashasvi Jaiswal has been terrific for India, the tour of Australia is likely to be his biggest challenge till date. Sarfaraz Khan too will be tested, as he has played all his matches for India at home thus far. Given that India's experienced batters are struggling, the youngsters might be put under even greater pressure Down Under.