New Delhi: Ahead of the home Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) later this year, Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell believes that playing well against the Indian spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will be key for them.
The ace bowlers have emerged as one of the best spin-bowling pair in recent times. In the first Test against Bangladesh in Chennai, Ashwin and Jadeja shared 13 scalps between them across two innings to guide India to a dominating 280-run win. For the five-Test series in Australia, the duo's performance will make a huge impact on India's chances of retaining the series for the third consecutive time Down Under.
"I think that over a long period, having played against guys like Ashwin and Jadeja, those two seem to have always been the ones we've faced consistently, and the battles we've had with them have often dictated the outcome of the game. So if we play well against those two, we'll generally find ourselves in a better position compared to when they've had a field day and run through us. Those two guys have been there for most of my career, being of a similar age, " Maxwell said on Star Sports.
The Australian all-rounder further lauded India's premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah's periodic rise as the leading pacer in the world after first facing him in Mumbai Indians nets during IPL 2013.
"And probably more recently, Jasprit Bumrah. I was there in his first year of the IPL in 2013 at Mumbai and pretty much faced him every day in the nets. To see him evolve from a young, untapped talent to what he is now—the probably best bowler across all three formats—is a pretty amazing story, " he added.
The upcoming five-match Test series will see India and Australia play in Perth, Adelaide (pink-ball match), Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney from November 22 to January 7, 2025.
India were able to retain the title in the last four successive BGT (home and away), which includes their famous series wins in 2018-19 and 2020-21.