Former Australian batsman Dean Jones has compared concurrent Team India with the 1980s of Windies. Jones believes Virat Kohli’s side has the same sparkle in it which saw the West Indies Cricket Team dominating the cricketing world in the past. He added the ‘scare factor’ had pushed India to dictate the terms.
“India now are no different to what the West Indies were in the eighties and early nineties. The Windies were brilliant at it and had that “scare factor”, which is what India have now,” Jones wrote in his column for the ToI.
Indian team has to maintain winning-run in overseas conditions: Jones
The 57-year-old Melbourne-born right-handed Australia batsman Jones urged India to continue the way they are playing the cricket, particularly in the away conditions.
“They have got to maintain the reputation that they can win in anyone’s backyard now and must not take the foot off the pedal,” Jones added.
India has recently scripted history by routing Australia2-1 at home in the four-match Test series. Eventually, it also followed with the first-ever bilateral One-day International series win by 2-1 under the dynamic leadership of Kohli on the Australian soil.
Moreover, Jones has lauded the efforts of Indian players for putting up a great show in the series Down Under. He reiterated the only blotch came in the form of Perth Test which was played at the newly-established stadium.
Jones believes the contribution from everyone has had helped India to get better of the Kangaroos.
“This was the greatest tour that India has ever had to Australia. The only blemish was probably the way they played in the Test match in Perth, but overall the great thing was that a lot of the boys played good overseas. Everyone did something on the tour to contribute,” Jones opined.
Jones on Indian spinners:
The cricketer-turned-commentator Jones has hailed leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal for his spectacular show at the Melbourne. Chahal bagged career-best of six for 42 in 10 overs. Jones added the Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav had left an impact with every passing game, as fast bowler Mohammed Shami has done exceedingly well across formats.
“The emergence of Chahal on his first outing Down Under was awesome, while Kuldeep Yadav continues to impress and had a wonderful ODI series. He showed everyone why he’s so good. Shami worked long and hard in the Tests and then backed that up with another superb ODI series. Sharma was brilliant in the one-dayers too, while Virat Kohli led magnificently right through,” Jones maintained.
Jones on resurgent Dhoni and the 2019 World Cup:
Jones has heaped praise on MS Dhoni on the past as well. He asserted the stalwart had been a huge factor in the line-up. However, he remarked it would be interesting to see would India introduce Rishabh Pant as a batter until Dhoni don the gloves for the national fold.
“The main ‘problem’ is Dhoni. He’s back in this team, and the question is will India, if push comes to shove, play Rishabh Pant as just a batsman?” Jones further wrote.
Jones stated India had to give their best during the impending New Zealand limited-overs series. He further opined the Men in Blue has fair chances in the upcoming 2019 World Cup campaign in England and Wales.
“India couldn’t be having a better journey for their World Cup campaign than what they are having now. And they have got to make sure they finish off New Zealand as well,” Jones concluded.
Impressive Jhye Richardson:
Jones further had a world of caution for Australia for the foreseeable future. He stated the batters have performed poorly in the recently-held ODI competition.
In conclusion, Jones is in awe of young pacer Jhye Richardson. The latter dismissed Kohli on all three occasions of the day-long format. Jones reiterated the Australian set-up should look at the promising spinner Fawad Ahmed. He also urged selectors to introduced the wicket-keeper batsman Matthew Wade at number seven spot.
On the other side, India will kick off their five-match ODI campaign against New Zealand at Napier on Wednesday (January 23).