NEW DELHI: As Australia gear up for the home Border-Gavaskar Trophy later this year, all-rounder Glenn Maxwell believes that handling the Indian spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will be crucial for their success.
The ace Indian spinners have established themselves as one of the top spin-bowling pairs.
In the first Test against Bangladesh in Chennai, Ashwin and Jadeja took 13 wickets between them, leading India to a dominant 280-run victory.
Their performance will significantly impact India’s chances of retaining the series in Australia for the third consecutive time.
“I think that over a long period, having played against guys like Ashwin and Jadeja, those two seem to have always been the ones we’ve faced consistently, and the battles we’ve had with them have often dictated the outcome of the game. So if we play well against those two, we’ll generally find ourselves in a better position compared to when they’ve had a field day and run through us. Those two guys have been there for most of my career, being of a similar age,” Maxwell said on Star Sports.
Maxwell also praised Jasprit Bumrah’s rise as world’s leading pacer, recalling his first encounter with him in the Mumbai Indians nets during IPL 2013.
“And probably more recently, Jasprit Bumrah. I was there in his first year of the IPL in 2013 at Mumbai and pretty much faced him every day in the nets. To see him evolve from a young, untapped talent to what he is now-the probably best bowler across all three formats-is a pretty amazing story,” he added.
The upcoming five-match Test series will take place in Perth, Adelaide (pink-ball match), Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney from November 22, 2024 to January 7, 2025.
India have successfully retained the title in the last four consecutive BGT series — home and away — including notable series wins in 2018-19 and 2020-21.
