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Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023 News, Predictions, and Opinions

Before the start of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023 edition, many former cricketers have set the internet on fire with their one-sided opinions and predictions. India and Australia both will lock horns with each other from 9th February 2023 onwards till 13th March 2023 in between 4-test matches will be played. You can check all the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023 details here.

Former Cricketers such as Mahela Jayawardene, Adam Gilchrist, Mitchell Johnson, Ian Chappell, JP Duminy, Michael Hussey, and many more have given their standpoints, winner predictions, things to ponder and etc.

Also, the current Australian leaders Pat Cummins, and Steve Smith have given some big statements as well so have a look at all those cricketers’ opinions. Even Cricket Australia posted the BGT 2020-21 season’s 1st Test match highlights video where Team India got all out for just 36 runs.

Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023 Opinions, Predictions, and Reactions

Skipper Pat Cummins said before the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023 that “Winning a series in India is like an Ashes away series but even rare. It will be a career highlight, era-defining series if we win out there.”

Steve Smith said for the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy “It’s a difficult place to win a Test match, let alone a series. So, if we are able to do that, it would be huge. I think if you win in India it is bigger than an Ashes series”

Australian star opener David Warner gave a big statement similar to Smith and Cummins “Being a part of the last Ashes was fantastic but to go to India and beat India in India is the toughest challenge in Test cricket for us. I’m looking forward to the tour, it’s always a hard graft. One thing that I’m looking forward to is applying myself against the best spinners in the world”

Allan Border predicted that the Aussies will walk away with the Border Gavaskar Trophy series 2-1 while an in-form Steve Smith will be the highest run scorer. The Australian legend also tipped Smith to be the player of the series while predicting that Kuldeep Yadav will be the one to take the most wickets.

Former star Australian WK-batsman Adam Gilchrist also mirrored Border’s series win prediction agreeing on a 2-1 win for Australia but he picked batter Usman Khawaja to make the most runs. As for the highest wicket-taker and the player of the series, he predicted Pat Cummins to come away with both honors.

Mark Waugh, however, predicted the Border Gavaskar Trophy series to be a 2-2 tie while selecting Virat Kohli to be the player of the series as well as the highest run-getter. For the highest wicket-taker,  he chose Nathan Lyon.

Michael Hussey also predicted that the series will be a 2-2 tie and picked Nathan Lyon as the player who will get the most wickets. However, he picked KL Rahul to be the player of the Border Gavaskar Trophy series as well as the highest run scorer.

Former England cricketer Isa Guha was the only one who predicted India to come away with a 2-1 victory while picking Steve Smith as the highest scorer, Axar Patel as the highest wicket-taker, and Virat Kohli as the player of the Border Gavaskar Trophy series.

Former New Zealand cricketer Ian Smith was the most brutal in his assessment predicting Australia to walk away with a 3-1 win while selecting Steve Smith as the highest run scorer and the player of the Border Gavaskar Trophy series. Nathan Lyon was the player who he predicted to be the highest wicket-taker.

JP Duminy’s Opinion

Duminy said during a virtual interaction, facilitated by SA T20, where he coaches the Paarl Royals team.

For Australia

“I see it as a very close Border Gavaskar Trophy series, but I genuinely think that Australia stands a good chance. They certainly have been the team to beat, I feel it would be 2-1 to Australia and for me, the Player-of-The-Series would be Usman Khawaja”

For India

“You think about Ashwin who has a prolific Test record in India, he’s probably going to be the key for them.”

“When it comes to Test cricket, you have got to utilize your resources. Guys like Pujara and Virat Kohli are prolific in Test cricket. They churn out runs after runs. It’s an opportunity for those guys to step up.”

“Probably he’s one of the most exciting players for India right now. From the way Test cricket is going, as a country you need to decide what line of cricket you would be playing. And if it’s of the attacking mindset, then he becomes an option, certainly.”

For Rank Turner Pitch

“That’s the beauty of having a home series. You have the opportunity to play to your advantage. Why would you not? It would be silly to think that you would not want to utilize that (rank-turners) in your favor.”

“I certainly see that will be the case in the series. Whenever you travel to the Sub-continent that’s always something you face. You need to be able to prepare for that. If you want to be the best in the world, you have to be able to perform in all conditions,”

Adam Gilchrist’s Opinion

“There’s not going to be anything easy in Border Gavaskar Trophy, and it’s not going to be a walk in the park, but it is their (Australia’s) best chance, and I expect them to do really, really well. The balance of their squad and how experienced the team is now is important,”

“They’ve (Australia) had a number of tours to subcontinental countries (Pakistan and Sri Lanka) to gain and learn from, and that was what held us up in 2004. We were very well planned and prepared due to the experience we had, both positive and negative, previously in the subcontinent. This group of players has built up that bank of knowledge and the skills that they have, so they have a very good chance of winning.”

Ian Chappell’s Opinion

He majorly highlighted the importance of Rishabh Pant and Ravichandran Ashwin in the team, currently, Pant is recovering from injuries due to a car accident.

“India is really going to miss Pant in the Border Gavaskar Trophy. The area where the Australians will be happy he is not playing in this series is his approach to the game. He’s a counter-attacker. Speaking as a captain, the guys that keep you awake at night are the fellows who score quickly, score big and they can change a match in one session. Rishabh Pant is that sort of player! He’s one player that the Australians don’t have to worry about. They’ll be delighted by that”

“Why is Ashwin likely to be the threat? Because he is a smart cricketer. Ashwin will always be a problem. Now, if you let him bowl the way he wants to bowl, you are in trouble. He will be a threat to Australia throughout. They have got to be proactive. You got to be thinking about being proactive. If you are not dictating terms, then you are in trouble. You have to get singles and rotate the strike. He (Ashwin) then has to change (his strategy against) whom he is bowling to then.”