COME SEE THE WONDER DOWN UNDER... AGAIN?

REMEMBER January 2021? If you are an Indian cricket fan or just a follower of the sport in general, you would. An Indian team, filled with more players who started the tour as substitutes and net bowlers, had made the 4 AM alarms and spending half the morning in front of television sets and streaming sites all worth it.

- Gomesh S talks to former selector Devang Gandhi

As much as there is always a sense of romance about getting up early in the day for an Australian summer, this was so much more. The Indian team breached the fortress that was The Gabba. They reiterated their dominance Down Under in an injury-ridden, Covid-stricken Australian summer. So much so that the then head coach Ravi Shastri called it one of the greatest Test series ever.

Forty-seven months on, India are back in Australian shores. Before they will even take to the field for the first Test, which begins in Perth on Friday, they have faced some setbacks. As already known, Rohit Sharma, who welcomed his second child on Friday, is likely to miss the Perth game and Mohammed Shami, who made a Ranji comeback, is not yet added to the Test squad. These are already known and the team had prepared for it. But on Saturday with concerns over Shubman Gill's thumb injury, head coach Gautam Gambhir and Jasprit Bumrah, expected to lead if Rohit misses out, might have some puzzles to solve in the coming week.