New Delhi, Sep 17 (IANS): Pakistan Test head coach Jason Gillespie has backed Australia to beat India in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy, citing the strength of their bowling quartet -- Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon.
India enter this year’s series riding high on their dominance in recent Border-Gavaskar contests, having won the last four series encounters, including two historic series wins on Australian soil in 2018-19 and 2020-21. Australia have not won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series since 2014-15, when they won 2-0 on home soil.
"They are the best bowlers in the country. Their records speak for themselves. This quartet, including Nathon Lyon, is the best possible bowling attack that Australia can put out in the park. I will be backing them in and I am sure they can do the job," Gillespie said on Fox Sports.
Australia’s last Test series win on Indian soil dates back to 2004-05. They failed to clinch the trophy in the four-Test meeting last year after losing the series 2-1.
"India, they are red-hot, they have been playing some wonderful Test cricket for a while now. Even though they have beaten Australia in recent times. I think Australia have a chance to beat India this time around," he added.
There has been much debate about whether Steve Smith should continue opening for Australia or return to the middle order. Gillespie believes the veteran batter should bat at No. 4 for the team.
Smith, who was promoted to open the innings with Usman Khawaja after David Warner's retirement earlier this year, has had mixed outings. Smith has averaged 28.50 in four Tests, contrary to his overall average of 56.97.
The right-handed batter has been the backbone of Australia's batting line-up for more than a decade but the dismal run at the top of the order is a worrying sign for the team.
"David Warner has been the wonder player for Australia in the format for a long time. Players like Warner are pretty tough to replace. I didn’t mind the idea of Steve Smith going up in the order. I have a feeling that he might have a slot back in the middle order to bat at 4.
"I think, whether they go back to domestic cricket and reward performance at the top of the order from the number of players who've done well, or if they feel that there's six batters they have then Travis Head is possibly the option that they go to.
"If Travis did get that opportunity, I think he will grab it with both hands. But he has done really well in the middle order for Australia and that counterattacking role... So, I suppose Australia would lose that in a sense, but what they would get someone probably similar to David Warner," said Gillespie.
The 2024/25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy will see India and Australia squaring off in the all-important five-match series at Perth, Adelaide (pink-ball game), Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, respectively.
The first Test between India and Australia will be played in Perth from November 22.