Former India captain Sourav Ganguly reckoned that the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy will be the toughest challenge for Rohit Sharma-led side. Australia will host the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy which is scheduled to start from November 22. Team India will play five Test matches against Australia and this will be the first red-ball outing between the two nations after World Test Championship final which was played at the Oval in 2023.
Australia registered a dominating 209 runs against India to become the World Test Champions. However, before that, India won two consecutive editions Border-Gavaskar Trophy on Australian soil and now they will be looking for a hat trick. If Rohit Sharma-led side manages to win the upcoming Test series against Australia then they will become Asia's first cricket team who won three consecutive Test series against Australia on their home soil.
"Biggest challenge. That's the toughest challenge for India. Five Tests in Australia and then 5 in the England series. It's a massive challenge," Ganguly told One India.
The former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Ganguly reckoned that wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant will be India's trump card in Australia.
"He [Rishabh Pant] is an outstanding player in Tests. He will be India's trump card for the series," Ganguly added.
Pant recently made his comeback to red-ball cricket in the two-Test match series against Bangladesh where he smashed a century in his first outing against the neighbouring nation. He will now most likely to feature in the upcoming three-Test match series against New Zealand.
Rohit Sharma to miss first Test match against Australia
Indian captain Rohit Sharma will most likely to miss the first Test match against Australia citing personal reasons.
"There isn't any complete clarity about the situation. It is understood that Rohit has intimated to the BCCI that there is a possibility that due to a pressing personal matter, he might have to skip one of the two Tests at the beginning of the series," a BCCI source told Sports Tak.
