Former India head coach Ravi Shastri feels that after suffering a 0-3 whitewash against New Zealand at home, the first two Tests against Australia in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy series will become 'extremely crucial' for the visitors.
With the WTC final berth up for grabs, India would have to win four out of their five matches in Australia to ensure a place in the summit clash next year at Lord's. "India would be hurting from that defeat in that series against New Zealand as they were caught cold," Shastri said in the latest episode of The ICC Review.
"They were a little complacent and they paid the price for it. But having said that, it's a very proud team, this Indian team."
The Indian team traditionally has done well on away tours in conditions when they have dominated the initial stages of a tour. That was how they made history during their 2018/19 tour of Australia when India won their first game ever on the opening Test on Australian soil, thanks to a CENTURY by Cheteshwar Pujara and a 31-run win in Adelaide.
Shastri feels India could bounce back in the same way they might have wanted to start their tour of Australia. "They would be hurting and they'd like to get back on track ASAP. The best way to bounce back from such a series is to start another series in a good manner," he noted. "So the first two Test matches become extremely crucial, going ahead," he said.
The 62-year-old encouraged the team management to focus on the positive aspects of their performance and draw lessons from what worked well on previous tours of Australia.
In 2018, under Virat Kohli's captaincy, India achieved their maiden Test series victory in Australia. They replicated the success in 2021 with a memorable series win, despite the absence of several key players.
I feel they must make sure that the team starts off right, and they keep the players in a good state of mind. That will be the most important thing for the coach," Shastri said.
The former coach added that India's batters could play a role in giving the side an early advantage.
It's playing on their mind, confidence-wise. You can't go to the negatives. Think about the positives. Think about what you did in Australia last time around and take it ahead from there. But what happened behind you? These are different conditions. And some of the tracks in Australia when you get in are probably the best to bat," Shastri said.
So I think it will be totally different, the conditions when they get out there.
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