'If There's Any Team That Can be a Threat to Australia in England Then it's India 100%': Ex-IND Opener

The World Test Championship (WTC) Final is at the doorstep and the experts are expecting a highly-electrifying clash between India and Australia at the Oval. While some believe that the Aussies will have a little edge in the contest, others think that Team India is very much capable of outsmarting Australia once again in the longest format of the game. The latest individual to join the bandwagon is former opener Aakash Chopra who feels that India can pose a real threat to Australia citing the outcomes of the last two Test series Down Under.

India won their first-ever Test series in Australia in 2019. However, the next tour, in 2020-21 remains the best ever as the team defeated the hosts in their own den with a comparatively inexperienced bunch of players. Earlier this year, India retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at home and the series of success against Australia makes Chopra feel that India can lift the mace this time in England.

“Australia aren’t overly unfamiliar with the conditions in England. The conditions in England are closer to that in Australia than it is to India. However, they will be challenged by this Indian team. The fact is that India beat them twice in their own backyard. If there’s any team that can be a threat to Australia (in these conditions), then it’s India 100%,” Chopra said in a video posted by ICC.

The cricketer-turned-commentator Chopra observed that just like India, a majority of Australian players will come into the contest following a 2-month long IPL season. Hence, they are likely to take some time to get into the groove.

“Not too many problems with Australia to be fair. The batting line-up looks strong and the bowling also looks deep. One thing that I spoke about India is applicable to Australia as well and that’s that they haven’t played together as a unit much of late as they played for different T20 franchises in the past two months. Now suddenly there’s a one-off match and here you need to bring your A++ game. That is not going to be easy,” Chopra concluded.