"India will not be whitewashed, pitches will be better": Sourav Ganguly on Border-Gavaskar Trophy

As India heads into the much-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, former India captain Sourav Ganguly shared his thoughts on the team's chances and the significance of the series with Revsportz. Reflecting on India's recent 0-3 series loss to New Zealand, Ganguly acknowledged the challenge ahead but remained optimistic about India's prospects. He highlighted the importance of the India-Australia and India-England series, noting their high excitement levels among cricket fans.

"I think for me, at the moment, India-Australia, India-England are two of the best series in world cricket. Obviously, Ashes is there. But I think these two series will be keenly watched and going through social media, through news and all, I can feel there is a lot of excitement in Australia. Rightfully so for five test matches, Kohli and Rohit may not be going back to the country again after this, there is enough in this series. It is going to be a fascinating series and I am looking forward to it," said Ganguly, while speaking to Revsportz.

Ganguly expressed regret over not being able to work on the series due to other commitments but emphasized his enthusiasm for watching the matches.

"I wish I could be there to work on the series, but my other commitments are stopping me from doing it. It is going to be a great series and I will be up in the morning to watch the action from Perth. I know it is not an early morning wake-up time, not at 5.30 because of time differences, and that should help!"

Addressing India's chances against Australia, Ganguly noted the team's poor performance against New Zealand but pointed to the impact of pitch conditions.

"India has a chance, of course. I know they did not play well against New Zealand and they are responsible for it. They cannot play on such pitches. I have repeatedly said this. When you have the quality of Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Axar, and Washington, you do not need pitches which turn square because it takes the batting away," he added.

Ganguly stressed the importance of preparing balanced pitches that offer fair competition between bat and ball.

"There has not been a single 100 in that series, except the one by Sarfaraz in Bengaluru. That speaks volumes on how the surfaces played throughout the test matches. And I say this repeatedly, I said this when I was captain, when Virat was captain, some of the pitches spun a lot. It takes the batting away. Batsman lose confidence if they do not score runs game after game and I think that is something, which needs to be looked at," the former Indian captain noted.

Emphasizing the need for longer-lasting matches, Ganguly stated, "I have always said win test matches in five days, not in three days. And with Ashwin and Jadeja, test matches change very quickly on day three, day four, day five in India. It may look flat and nothing happening on day one, day two and then suddenly things start changing. That is what they should look at. Gautam needs to make sure the pitches are better."

Despite concerns, Ganguly dismissed predictions of a whitewash, expressing confidence in India's ability to compete.

"They are a good side and against Australia it is going to be a fascinating series. A lot of people are saying they will be whitewashed but I do not think so. The pitches will be better."

The much anticipated Border-Gavaskar series between India and Australia will begin on November 22, with the first Test at Perth. The second Test, scheduled for December 6 to 10 at Adelaide Oval, will feature the exciting day-night format under the stadium's lights. After that, fans will turn their attention to The Gabba in Brisbane for the third Test, which will be held from December 14 to 18.

The customary Boxing Day Test, set for December 26 to 30 at Melbourne's storied Melbourne Cricket Ground, will bring the series to its penultimate stage. The fifth and final Test, to take place at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3 to 7, will serve as the series climax, promising a dramatic conclusion to an exciting contest.

India's squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (Wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Rishabh Pant (Wk), KL Rahul, Harshit Rana, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar. (ANI)