According to a recent clip posted by Prime Video Sport Australia, cricketers were asked to name one Indian player whom they thought would suit well in the Australian XI. Nathan Lyon, Alex Carey, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marnus Labuschagne and Josh Hazlewood had their best choices.
Answering this query first, Lyon could not pass beyond the seasoned batter Virat Kohli. Since Lyon is already an off-spinner in the XI, Carey recognized Ravichandran Ashwin’s strong hold but picked Kohli instead and called him ‘the King’.
In contrast to Khawaja who hailed Kohli as ‘unbelievable’, he opted for Sachin Tendulkar who was his childhood hero. Such consistency over time is reflected by Smith’s respect for Tendulkar naming him ‘absolute freak’. Starc also went with Tendulkar while Labuschagne took note of how much impact he had on world cricket at 51 years old.
However Hazlewood’s answer to this question was hilarious at the same time. It would have allowed some time off for the Australian fast bowler had he included contemporary Jasprit Bumrah into his team. Here’s what Hazlewood said:
“Jasprit Bumrah, so then I can have a week off.”
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_Kv6sZPk5C/?igsh=Y3J1Zm9tcHpqdWF4
India and Australia are the leading teams in the WTC 2023-25 cycle
India stands at the top of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 with six victories from nine matches and a total point percentage of 68.52 as of now. The Australians come second, with eight wins in 12 games played so far accomplishmenting to 62.50.
Currently, both teams appear very strong candidates for the finals that will be held in June 2025. The Aussie side triumphed over India by 209 runs during the WTC 2021-23 final.
Starting this November, India and Australia are set to have a five-match Test series between themselves. It would equally serve as an opportunity for Australia to break their losing streak against India in Tests having not won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy since 2014-15.
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