‘They’ve got three important players’: Sachin Tendulkar names biggest threat for India ahead of Australia Test series

With less than a week to got for the first of the four Tests in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, all the talk is around the possible playing XI of both India and Australia for the historic pink-ball day-night Test match in Adelaide.

Both India and Australia have their own share of headaches and tough calls to make ahead of the series opener.

Legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar shared his thoughts ahead of the four-match Test series. Sachin warned Virat Kohli’s India of ‘three important players’ in the Australian side.

Sachin said the current Australian side is a lot “stronger” with leading batsmen David Warner and Steve Smith back from the ball-tampering suspensions that kept them out two years ago. Another Australian batsmen who Sachin thinks can give a lot of problems even to the strong Indian bowling line-up is Marnus Labuschagne.

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“From the last time that Australia played India they have got three important players. They have got Warner who is back in the team, Smith and (Marnus) Labuschagne,” Tendulkar told AFP.

“This is a far better squad compared to the earlier one. When a couple of your senior members are not there, suddenly that void is felt and that is what Australia felt,” Tendulkar added.

Warner and Smith were not part of the Australian squad which India beat 2-1 the last time they toured down under in 2018-19 and neither was Labuschagne who was yet to make his Test debut.

But Tendulkar insisted that India’s bowling attack led by the fiery Jasprit Bumrah and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is also stronger and can challenge Australia.

“Every era should be kept separate, I don’t like comparing,” he said, when asked if this was the strongest attack India has produced.

“But I can say that it (India) is a complete bowling attack. So it doesn’t matter what kind of surface you are playing on, you have got all sides covered.

“You have got bowlers who can swing the ball. When it comes to variations and awkwardness, that is also there.

“Someone hitting the deck hard is also there. We have got a wrist spinner, we have got finger spinners.”

(With AFP inputs)