Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25: 5 talking points as inconsistent India take on wounded Australia

The 2024/25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy is upon us.

Cricket is a great humbler: one day you are on top and the next day you find yourself in the middle of a crisis. Team India are gearing up for their first of five Test matches against the mighty Australians, but a humiliating 0-3 clean sweep at the hands of New Zealand at home has landed the Men In Blue in a very tricky situation, with their World Test Championship (WTC) aspirations hanging by a slender rope. 

In this article, we take a look at the five major talking points ahead of India’s first-ever five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) to be played Down Under. 

Injuries and absences already a concern

Just like the previous two editions of the BGT in Australia, India are set to take the field without some key personnel. They will be missing captain Rohit Sharma for the first Test in Perth, the 37-year-old having taken a paternity leave to be with his family following the birth of his second child. In his absence, it’s likely that the out-of-confidence KL Rahul gets the nod alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal. 

India will also be without Shubman Gill. The 25-year-old was among a handful of Indian batters that looked in decent form against New Zealand recently. Fortunately, his injury should only keep him out for the first Test, unless there are any unforeseen complications. 

In Gill’s absence, it’s likely that stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah and head coach Gautam Gambhir will give young prospect Devdutt Padikkal a run at the #3 slot. Earlier this year, Padikkal was part of the touring India A side that played two three-day matches against Australia, where he scored a composed 88 during the second innings at Mackay. 

Vulnerability against seam and swing

All of India’s major collapses in recent Tests have come in conditions where the pacers have got help in the air and off the deck. 

India won their last two Test series in Australia, but their lowest-ever score also came during the 2020/21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, when they were infamously bowled out for just 36 in the day-night Test at the Adelaide Oval. The pink ball tends to do more than the traditional red ball, and Indian batters have always found it difficult to tackle that extra movement.

India experienced a similar fate on the second day of the opening Test against New Zealand last month when they got bowled out for just 46—their lowest-ever score in Test cricket on home soil. The fact that it arrived immediately after India had crushed batting records in Kanpur with the fastest team 50, 100, 150, and 200 made the collapse an even bigger shock.

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No anchor in Cheteshwar Pujara’s absence

India are currently going through a transition period, with many of their old guards handing over the baton to the flamboyant and exuberant younger generation. Batters like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Sarfaraz Khan, and Rishabh Pant all like to play their shots, though it is this knack of getting out of trouble by hitting big shots that could haunt India just like it did in the first innings of the Bengaluru Test. 

One of the major reasons for India’s success in the last couple of Australian tours was the solid foundation laid by Cheteshwar Pujara, who stood tall with his compact defence and held one end up in crucial India wins, which allowed other players to play freely. 

There is no such player in the current Indian team, adding a lot more responsibility on the shoulders of senior members like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and KL Rahul—all of whom are going through a lean patch—to avoid any more collapses.

Inexperienced bowling line-up

With Mohammed Shami unavailable for the first Test, the focus is firmly on India’s relatively inexperienced pace unit and how it measures up against Australia’s seasoned attack in their backyard.

Bumrah enters this series in scintillating form, having performed brilliantly across all formats this year. His ability to exploit bounce and execute toe-crushing yorkers will make him lethal on the hard Australian surfaces. Mohammed Siraj, on the other hand, has been inconsistent in terms of productivity of late and will look to regain form as the series progresses.

Reportedly set to debut as India’s sole seam-bowling all-rounder, Nitish Kumar Reddy will add balance to the side. With Hardik Pandya and Shardul Thakur not making the cut, Reddy’s inclusion reflects India’s need for versatility. Although his domestic performances have been promising, facing Australia in their backyard will be a baptism of fire for the Andhra Pradesh all-rounder. 

The management and Rohit have also backed young guns like Akash Deep and Harshit Rana, two raw and aggressive fast bowlers who like to hit the deck hard. There’s bags of potential on display here, though the pressure of performing against a high-calibre side like Australia will test their mettle. 

What’s at stake?

Following their 0-3 home series defeat to New Zealand, which was their first home Test series defeat in 12 years, India are on the brink of missing out on next year’s World Test Championship final in Lord’s. They’re now in second place in the WTC standings behind Australia and need to win at least four out of the five Tests in this series; it doesn’t get any tougher. However, their qualification could still be affected by the performances of South Africa, Sri Lanka, and New Zealand.

The Men in Blue have no one but themselves to blame for ending up in such a precarious situation. That said, in the last two Border-Gavaskar Trophies in Australia, no one gave India a sniff of a chance and yet they ended up toppling the mighty Baggy Greens. A comprehensive series victory is not entirely out of the realm of possibility this time round given how unpredictable Indian have been of late.