Jasprit Bumrah pitted against India's biggest Australian nemesis; 'confrontation' to overshadow Kohli vs Cummins battle
Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes the battle featuring Jasprit Bumrah and Travis Head, will light up the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Team India have arrived in Australia for the upcoming five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy and hence the predictions have started to come in. Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes that the two key battles in the marquee series are going to be Australia captain Pat Cummins against Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah versus Travis Head. The left-handed Travis Head has been a thorn in India's way as he has played match-defining innings in the past against India -- World Test Championship (WTC) final in 2023, and then the ODI World Cup final in the same year.
Travis Head, who is an attacking batter by nature, has always liked playing against India, and has a pretty decent record against the arch-rivals. Vaughan believes that Bumrah is the best bowler in the world, and can stop Head from taking the game away pretty quickly.
As it is not known whether Rohit Sharma would be available for the first Test as he and his wife Ritika Sajdeh are expecting the birth of their second child, Vaughan believes that Jasprit Bumrah could also be leading the visitors in the Perth Test, set to begin on November 22.
"I've got Cummins vs Kohli, world-class. And I think Bumrah bowling to Travis Head, I think that is going to be a great contest, cause Travis will try and just moose it. And Bumrah will probably be captain for the first couple of games, don't know when's Rohit's gonna arrive. Pound for pound, I think Bumrah is the best bowler in the world so I'm looking forward to that kind of confrontation," Vaughan said on the Club Prairie Fire Podcast.
'Fascinating contest' between Rishabh Pant, Nathan Lyon
Speaking on the same podcast, former Australia wicketkeeper-batter Adam Gilchrist took a note of how Rishabh Pant took a special liking to Nathan Lyon during India's last tour of Australia. Hence, it is no surprise, that Gilchrist named the Lyon versus Pant match-up a key one in the upcoming series.
Gilchrist also believes that Steve Smith looked quite switched on, in the recently-concluded ODI series between Australia and Pakistan. The former Australia wicketkeeper said that Smith could have a very good battle with Jasprit Bumrah.
"Bumrah features funnily in my line versus Steve Smith. I think Smith looked quite switched on in the couple of games he played in those ODIs. He looked like he was ready to knock out a decent summer. He would be really happy to be back in his No.4 position, that would be a good match-up," said Gilchrist.
"The other one, this was one quite interesting the last time they were out here. Rishabh Pant versus Nathan Lyon. That's the GOAT, as far as off-spinners are concerned, from the Australian point of view. Does he try to draw him out of the crease, does he go flat. Rishabh can go through the gears as quickly as anyone, from complete defence to all out assault and attack on a bowler, so that would be fascinating," he added.
Australia are yet to win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after 2014-15. Meanwhile, India need to win the upcoming series 4-0 to make it to the World Test Championship (WTC) final without depending on other results.
Australia are coming into the upcoming series on the back of an ODI series loss against Pakistan, while India have landed in Australia after suffering a series whitewash against New Zealand.
The Tests between India and Australia will be played in Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
