India need Ajinkya Rahane to rewind the clock to fill Virat Kohli void in Australia

Less than two years since they created history Down Under, the Indian cricket team is back on Australian soil in the unfamiliar territory of having to defend the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as visitors.Time flies by quickly in sport, even after a tumultuous 2020 which brought the world to a grinding halt. In exactly a month’s time, Virat Kohli and his men will take to the field at the Adelaide Oval against an Aussie side which bears a distinct look to the one which they overpowered in a 2-1 series

The rankings have changed hands in the interim and it is Australia who will begin the four-match series as the No1 Test team in the world. The hosts are further emboldened by the presence of Steve Smith and David Warner after the batting mainstays were forced to miss the previous series against India due to their suspensions. Throw in Marnus Labuschagne, who has since transformed into a potential future great, and the challenge for India is humungous.

The that Kohli will ryeturn to India after the opening Test has further compounded the visitors ahead of the hotly-anticipated battle. The pendulum has clearly swung in Australia’s favour, and it will take a monumental effort for India to repeat their 2018-19 triumph.Pakistan and New Zealand have been whitewashed in the previous Australian summer and the possibility that a similar fate could await India is not far fetched despite their credentials.

India sans Kohli look extremely thin with the bat, and a lot will ride on the output from Cheteshwar Pujara. The stalwart was the difference between the two sides last time around, with his mountain of runs and three centuries blunting the Aussie attack. Even for a batsman of Pujara’s calibre, to replicate those numbers will take some doing.