JP Duminy says Australia will favorite in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar trophy and can secure the series by 2-1 while India will be without the services of its key players Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah.
Former South African batter JP Duminy says Australia will favorite in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar trophy and can secure the series by 2-1. India will be without the services of its key players Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah, but star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will have returned to the side after knee surgery. The Test series will start on Thursday in Nagpur.
“I see it as a very close series, but I genuinely think that Australia stands a good chance. They certainly have been the team to beat,”
Duminy said during a virtual interaction, facilitated by SA T20, where he coaches Paarl Royal’s team.
“I feel it would be 2-1 to Australia and for me, the Player-of-The-Series would be Usman Khawaja,”
he said of the Australian left-hander, who hit a career-best unbeaten 195 against South Africa in Sydney Test in January.
Duminy was quick to add that one can never “write off” India in their home conditions.
“You think about (Ravichandran) Ashwin who has a prolific Test record in India, he’s probably going to be the key for them.” “When it comes to Test cricket, you have got to utilize your resources. Guys like (Cheteshwar) Pujara and Virat Kohli are prolific in Test cricket. They churn out runs after runs. It’s an opportunity for those guys to step up.
India’s ‘Mr 360’, Suryakumar Yadav has been in great form in the T20 format and is added to the Test squad.
Asked whether he’s primed for a Test debut, Duminy said:
“Probably he’s one of the most exciting players for India right now. From the way Test cricket is going, as a country you need to decide what line of cricket you would be playing. And if it’s of the attacking mindset, then he becomes an option, certainly.”
“That’s the beauty of having a home series. You have the opportunity to play to your advantage. Why would you not. It would be silly to think that you would not want to utilize that (rank-turners) in your favor.
“I certainly see that will be the case in the series. Whenever you travel to the Sub-continent that’s always something you face. You need to be able to prepare for that. If you want to be the best in the world, you have to be able to perform in all conditions,”
he asserted.
Pandya can turn into a great player for India across formats
India all-rounder Hardik Pandya is seen as a white-ball dissident but Duminy sees no explanation for why Pandya cannot become an all-format player?
“I’m always going to advocate all formats if the player can influence the game. I’ve played with him as well, and I think he can be a great player for India across all formats. I would certainly encourage him to do (play) all formats.”