Ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024/25 edition, India’s stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah has stated that the visitors aren’t carrying any baggage from their 3-0 whitewash at the hands of New Zealand, last month. India are entering the upcoming BGT on the back of a listless performance versus the Kiwis at home. Thus, they now have a herculean task to beat Australia 4-0 to stand a chance to directly qualify for next year’s ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final, in June. Bumrah, however, has made it clear that India start afresh and will play positive cricket Down Under.
‘When we won the World Cup, it didn’t mean we would become complacent’
Talking to the reporters ahead of the Perth Test, which gets underway on Friday (Nov 22), Bumrah said, “Even if you win, you start from 0. If you lose, you start from 0. That’s the beauty of cricket. When we won the World Cup, it didn’t mean we would become complacent in other series. That’s how I am looking at. Obviously, we were disappointed and down that we had a tough series last time. But, we are not carrying any baggage. We come with a fresh mindset, and different opposition. And we come to learn from the changes that have happened in the team. We are not carrying any baggage from India. We are trying to be positive and play good cricket.”
India had a solid chance to strengthen their position in the WTC standings with a strong performance versus the Black Caps at home. However, NZ became the first team to whitewash India in India in a three-match series. Following the loss, the two-time WTC finalists have to bring their A-game to beat Australia in their own backyard. India have beaten the Aussies in their last two series Down Under, however, Pat Cummins & Co. will come hard at the Indians this time around.
India head into the Perth Test without regular captain Rohit Sharma, who is out on paternity leave. Thus, all eyes will be on Bumrah on how he leads a side low on confidence in the series opener. The first Test starts on Friday (Nov 22).