We are now less than 24 hours away from the historic Border-Gavaskar Trophy match number 1 to be played in Nagpur between the Indian cricket team and the Australian cricket team from 9th February.
There is excitement among all the fans surrounding the series. India vs Australia rivalry in cricket field is one of the best ever in the game of the bat and ball. The hype is unreal as both the teams have started their preparation for the huge series.
The 4 match Test series, famously known as the Border-Gavaskar Trophy dedicated two of the great cricketers from both the country, holds a lot of importance for both the teams. For the home team India, they need to win the series to qualify for the upcoming World Test Championship 2021-2023 Final to be played in June.
As for the Australian, he lost the previous iteration of the series to India, that too at their home in Australia, as such they are out for revenge in this series.
However, both the teams are missing some key players in this series, in atleast the initial 1 or 2 matches. Today in this article, we take a look at the list of players who will miss the initial matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Mitchell Starc
The Aussie star pacer Mitchell Starc is gonna be a huge miss for the Australian team. Starc suffered a finger injury in the recently concluded Test series vs South Africa, that also ruled him out of the 3rd Test against the Proteas. Starc has the ability to change the game with sheer pace and line and length. He is sure to miss the 1st Test but could make his return in the 2nd Test depending on his recovery.
Josh Hazlewood
While the injury and the confirmation of Starc won’t be able to play was confirmed way back, another important bowler for the the Australian, Josh Hazlewood also suffered a injury during their camp in India. He is now set to miss the 1st Test atleast and is in doubt for the 2nd Test as well. It certainly will be a huge blow for the Aussies as Hazlewood has been brilliant for the Australian team.
Jasprit Bumrah
While Australia is set to miss the services of 2 of the key fast bowlers in the initial matches, Team India will also miss their best bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who has missed a whole lot of matches due to back injury. He made a return from injury in September but was ruled out again. He was again included in the squad for the recent series vs Sri Lanka, but was ruled out before the 1st match. He is yet to recover fully and has not been named in squad for the 1st two matches.
Shreyas Iyer
Indian cricket team’s dependable middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer is also set to miss the 1st Test vs the Aussies. Iyer suffered a back injury during the series against Sri Lanka. He has as ruled out of the series against New Zealand because of that and is yet to fully recover for the 1st Test. He may though make his return in the 2nd Test that will be played from 17th February in Delhi.
