India’s Young Stars Ready for Trial by Fire in Australia

India is gearing up for a high-stakes five-match Test series against Australia, starting November 22, with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and a potential World Test Championship (WTC) final spot on the line. India must achieve a 4-0 series win to secure a straightforward path to the WTC final; otherwise, they’ll rely on results from other matches. Head coach Gautam Gambhir, asked on JioCinema to identify which player could bat for 11 hours to save a match, quipped, “All the top seven.”

Gambhir, along with senior players Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Jasprit Bumrah, has emphasised the transformative nature of playing Test cricket in Australia, describing it as an experience that shapes players into better cricketers. Kohli and Ashwin, both on their fifth Test tour of Australia, and Bumrah, on his third, have been sharing insights from their past series experiences with the younger members of the squad, who face their first red-ball series Down Under.

With eight players—including Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Abhimanyu Easwaran, and Sarfaraz Khan—making their maiden Test tour of Australia, the series will be a baptism of fire for these rising stars. Indian team mentor Abhishek Nayar shared that the young players are eager to prove themselves in one of cricket’s toughest arenas.

“It’s one of the biggest challenges for any Indian cricketer,” Nayar remarked. “The young boys are keen, raring to go, and hope to make a name for themselves by the end of this tour.”