The build-up to India’s much-awaited tour of Australia is slowly gaining momentum as Rohit Sharma & Co warm up with Test matches at home and the Aussies wait for the start of their summer from November.
India will defend the Border Gavaskar Trophy, which will be contested over a five-Test series for the first time. India have had a strong grip on the BGT over the last decade, including two consecutive triumphs Down Under.
Indicating how a big population of Indian expats in Australia and the travelling fans have always made the visitors feel at home, opener Usman Khawaja shared his experience from matches played in Melbourne that made him wonder whose home game it was.
“The funny thing is when we play in Melbourne, it sometimes feels like an Indian home game. When I played in Melbourne the last time, there were so many people there. They were supporting India…I was like ‘are we in Delhi or are we at the MCG?'” said Khawaja, while talking on a Star Sports show.
“It can be funny because you can get a lot of Indian supporters in Australia.”
Talking about what to expect from the Australian pitches this summer, the left-handed batsman said, “I don’t know”, while admitting that the tracks have become difficult to bat on over the last couple of years.
“Australian wickets have changed a lot. It has felt like over the last few years the ball has dominated the bat considerably. There haven’t been too many hundreds scored over the last two years in Australia, while normally it was a nice place to bat in Test cricket,” said the 37-year-old veteran who has played 73 Tests and scored 5451 runs, including 15 hundreds and 26 fifties.
“The conditions have been quite bowler-friendly (lately). Whether or not they will be bowler-friendly this year, I don’t know; but it has definitely thrown a different spanner in the works. We will have to wait and see.”
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