Rohit Sharma will need to lift the Indian team's morale when they hit Australian shores, having been blanked 0-3 at home by New Zealand — a stunning result that has left the side's World Test Championship (WTC) final hopes hanging by a thread. (More Cricket News)
Coach Gautam Gambhir and some of the seniormost members of the team were criticized for their performances against the BlackCaps, but 1983 World Cup winner and former chairman of selectors Sandeep Patil said they should forget the home loss and start afresh for the tour Down Under.
Patil, 68, was speaking on the sidelines of the launch of his autobiography 'Beyond Boundaries' at the Cricket Club of India (CCI), with dignitaries like Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and John Wright in attendance.
Patil said the first-ever series whitewash to New Zealand was a wake-up call for Indian cricket. "This (series loss) was like a wake-up call. It's not like our team has been playing badly. A few months back they won the T20 World Cup. There are some big players in our team, surely they will bounce back," he said.
"They must have learnt so many things from this loss," Patil added.
However, the Indian cricket team's major weakness in the New Zealand series was batting against spin. Ajaz Patel (15 wickets), Mitchell Santner (13) and even Glenn Phillips (8) put the premier batters under pressure with their guile as Tom Latham's men took home the series.
When asked if the Australians might go for the jugular and opt for turning tracks, Patil said they won't. "I don't think they (Aussies) will make a mistake like that."
Team India will play the first Test against Australia in Perth, starting on November 22.
Full India Squad For Australia Tour
Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.
Travelling reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed.
