"They are afraid" - Basit Ali on Australia's mind games ahead of Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 against India
Former Pakistani batter Basit Ali believes that some of Australia's current and former players have started playing mind games ahead of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India. He opined that Australia have resorted to psychological warfare as they are afraid of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Shami.
He suggested that the Australians will say that they are targeting Rishabh Pant, who has done well Down Under in the past, but from inside, they will be scared of the aforementioned quartet.
In a live session on his YouTube channel, Basit said (from 20:20):
"They are all playing mind games, be it Pat Cummins, Ricky Ponting or Adam Gilchrist. They are scared of Bumrah, Shami, Rohit and Virat. Remember my words. They are afraid of these four names. Rishabh Pant has scored runs in Australia. They are playing mind games by indicating that they are targeting Pant. I have played in Australia and understand their mindset. They are showing one thing and thinking something else from inside."
It is worth mentioning that India have emerged victoriously in the last two editions of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on Australian soil. The upcoming series will be even more crucial for the two cricketing giants as they look to advance to the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
"His winning percentage is not enough" - Basit Ali on Rohit Sharma's captaincy record in Tests
Rohit Sharma was appointed India's new Test captain after Virat Kohli relinquished his leadership position in 2022. Rohit has done an impressive job so far, winning 11 out of 17 matches as the skipper.
He has a winning percentage of 64.70 in the format. However, Basit Ali believes that it is still not enough. Speaking about Rohit's captaincy record in red-ball cricket, he said in the same video (from 20:06):
"It is still insufficient. According to me, his winning percentage is not enough. Australia are the only team that can give India a tough fight to India, the rest are all children."
Rohit Sharma will next be seen in action during India's upcoming second and final Test of their series against Bangladesh. The match will be played in Kanpur from Friday, September 27. India lead the series 1-0, courtesy of their 280-run victory in Chennai.