The battle games have already started ahead of Sarhad-Gavaskar Trophy 2024, which will be held later this year.
After Ricky Ponting, Ravi Shastri and Matthew Hayden, it’s time for former Australian Geoff Lawson to announce this competition.
Lawson wasted no time and turned his thoughts to India great Virat Kohli. Kohli will be crucial to India’s chances in the series.
The 35-year-old holds the record against Australia, scoring 2,042 runs in 25 Tests at an average of 47.49. This is most likely not. Number of runs scored against any Test-playing nation.
Virat Kohli’s Test career took a giant leap from India’s tour of Australia in 2011, where he scored a magnificent hundred in Adelaide.
In the 2014-15 series, the twins scored hundreds in a memorable Test match at Adelaide. Since then, he has scored seven Test centuries against Australia.
Geoff Lawson calls Virat Kohli a ‘fake villain’
Speaking at mid-day, Geoff Lawson called Virat Kohli a “fake villain”. Lawson argued that players like Jasprit Bumrah have a likeable nature and can win the hearts of the crowd, while Kohli will continue to lurk in the infield.
“Virat Kohli will play the fake villain to Jasprit Bumrah’s lovable nature. Bumrah has the privilege of spending half his life on fine leg, giving him an ideal chance to interact with the crowd, win smiles and hearts, while Kohli hides away. and verbally engages any Aussie player with a conversational bent, and there will be one or two of those,” Lawson said.
However, Geoff Lawson also pointed out that the Australian crowd likes an opponent like Virat Kohli and if he scores a fifty or a hundred, they will appreciate him. He also added that the pace and bounce in Australia will suit his batting style.
“The Aussie crowd loves a competitor like Kohli, if he plays the antagonist, he might give him some grief, but if he makes 50s and 100s, you can guarantee he’ll be cheered loudly by the fans.”
“He has loved the Australian conditions since his first tour 13 years ago. The bounce and pace suited his two-foot game, but the question in 2024 is whether he still has the razor-sharp edge to be Australia’s best home attack. I I wouldn’t count,” Lawson reckoned.
Border-Gavaskar Trophy – Time to keep Geoff Lawson
Geoff Lawson also spoke about Australia’s chances in Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024. He believes that it is time for Australia to retain the trophy and finally end the Test series drought against India by bringing the trophy back home.
“Pat Cummins may smile a lot but his competitiveness is deep-rooted and strong. It has been noted that some Australian players have their work cut out for them, pointing to a never-shakable mindset.”
“The Sarhad-Gavaskar Trophy has been given to the BCCI for a decade, it’s time to bring it back to the trophy shelves in Colimont (Cricket Australia’s headquarters in Victoria). Australia may have the World Test Championship but are winless in the home series. India, the crown sits firmly ” he said.
Australia’s latest record in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Despite Australia’s superior record over India, the last four Border-Gavaskar Trophy series went India’s way by the same margin – 2-1.
Of these four games, two were played in Australia and two in India. While beating India in India is never an easy task, Australia will feel that the upcoming series is their best chance to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
India have won the Test series the last two times they toured Australia. In 2018-19, Virat Kohli led the team to consecutive victories.
Meanwhile, in 2020-21, Virat Kohli was India’s captain but left the series after the first Test. Ajinkya Rahane took over the captaincy and led the team brilliantly to script a memorable comeback.
