"Be ready for some tough cricket and perform, the media will respect you" - Ravi Shastri's advice to Team India for 2024-25 BGT in Australia
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has advised the side to play as hard as possible and produce results to win over the Australian media which will likely be all in with the home team during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Team India will battle Australia Down Under over five Tests, starting November 22.
Under Shastri, India stunned the cricketing world by defeating Australia in Australia in their previous two tours in 2018-19 and 2020-21. The 2018-19 series win in Australia was India's first-ever taste of success in a Test series Down Under.
As the side looks to complete a hat-trick of Test series wins in Australia, Shastri has offered advice to the team in a conversation with Fox Cricket.
"You have got to understand very early what to expect from the media as well, because they’ll be behind the Australian team. But if you can get your boys to get out there and play as hard as it gets, be ready for some tough cricket and perform, the media will respect you," he said.
India have won the previous four bilateral Test series against the Aussies, with their last series defeat coming in the 2014-15 tour Down Under.
However, Pat Cummins' men upstaged India in the latest Test meeting between the sides in the 2023 World Test Championship (WTC) final at the Oval by 209 runs.
"Your A game has to come to the park very early if you want to catch Australia on the wrong foot" - Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri warned India of the challenges of playing Australia in Australia and urged them to be at their best from the word go.
While the final scoreline read 2-1 to India in their previous two tours of Australia, the road to victory was largely contrasting. Virat Kohli's Men won the opening Test in 2018-19 to immediately capture the upper hand in the series.
However, they suffered a defeat in the series opener in 2020-21 after being bowled out for their lowest Test score of 36 in the second innings. Yet, an injury-ridden Indian side battled all odds to complete a 2-1 victory.
"It’s going to be tough. As I found out on my three tours here as a coach, you have to be at your best. Your A game has to come to the park very early if you want to catch Australia on the wrong foot. You don’t want to give an inch. I think that is the only way. There is no other way you can play. You’ve got to, or you’re not going to get an inch," Shastri said in the same interview.
The stakes are even higher for Team India in the upcoming Australian series, with their 2025 WTC final hopes hanging by a thread.
Rohit Sharma's men must defeat Australia by a margin of 4-0 or better to confirm a third consecutive WTC final berth.