Australia Test Captain Tim Paine said that when facing India in the game’s longest format, it’s always a much-awaited clash due to cricket standard and proceeded to equate the match with the hallowed Ashes series between Australia and England.
Team India won its first-ever Test series in Australia when they toured Down Under in 2018-19. But Paine remained adamant that the Australian side did not seek revenge.
Tim Paine said, “India and Australia as a rivalry, it’s a series a bit like the Ashes that we all look forward to.”
He further added, “This is a different team, no doubt their team will be slightly different as well, but it’s two high quality teams, a really anticipated series purely because of the quality of cricket, not for what’s happened before.”
India is scheduled to tour Australia in December this year for a 4-match Test series. However, this time Australia will have the support of Steve Smith and David Warner, who were serving a ban in 2018 when the two sides last met over their involvement in the sandpaper-gate scandal.
Tim Paine said that With the addition of the two main batsmen and the development of Marnus Labuschagne after last summer’s Ashes, Australia will be better positioned to take on India’s Jasprit Bumrah led bowling attack.