4 players to watch out for in the Border- Gavaskar series 2018-19 

India begin their series Down Under this Thursday. Indian fans all over the globe feel that this might be the best chance for the Kohli-led Indian team to pull off a series victory. Easier said than done, Australia are a powerful team at home and cannot be taken lightly.

With the ball-tampering saga lingering back at their mind, they would be itching to prove to the world they are not underdogs this series. India on the other hand, wanting to become the best touring team across the world, this series promises to be a toughly fought battle which all cricket lovers all over the world crave for.

It is tough times for Cricket Australia as they need to get back the belief of the cricket fans and they are undergoing a change of culture right now. They have lost 17 matches out of 24 in all formats and with the Test Series looming largely former Australian Captain Michael Clarke has rejected the suggestion for a change of culture and said: "Australian cricket, needs to stop worrying about being liked and start worrying about being respected."He further stated "Play tough Australian cricket. Whether we like it or not, that's in our blood."

Australia captain Tim Paine has responded to the comments Micheal Clarke saying "No one has spoken about being liked, certainly by the opposition. We've spoken about wanting to get the Australian public's trust and make sure that clearly, you want the Australian public and cricket fans to like or love the Australian Test team".

The recently concluded T20 series saw the two teams sharing the trophies with each other. This series though may be different.

In this article, we are going to look at 4 players who can turn around the series for their country with their performances on the field.

Usman Khawaja

The first Muslim cricketer to represent Australia, Khawaja displayed his batting prowess in the recently concluded Australia-Pakistan series at the UAE. Known to be a home track bully, he erased that image with a mind-blowing performance against a formidable Pakistan bowling lineup. His batting was fluent, gritty, composed and he applied himself well in the spin-friendly conditions, which the Australian batsmen generally find it difficult to handle. Battling injuries, Usman has raced in time to be declared fit for the first Test.

With the absence of Smith and Warner, Khawaja has stated his position can be flexible. He says as an opener you only get 10 minutes, which is a pain in the arse. He loves batting No.3 because you often get a little rest, a little breather, put your pads on nice and easy, watch the openers scurry off. He must take the responsibility of the top order batting against a good Indian bowling lineup.

Usman Khawaja celebrates his hundred

Ajinkya Rahane

Rahane has found himself lucky to be in the Indian team for this tour after a string of poor scores. Known to be a good batsman overseas, Rahane has, time and again, failed to deliver at the big stage. The Indian vice-captain now finds himself in a tricky position of either scoring or being sacked.

Rahane posses a solid batting technique, has the patience to grind it out, and also previous experiences of touring Australia which he could pass on to youngsters around him. Rahane is batting at the spot which the legendary VVS Laxman played at.

The name VVS Laxman would send a chill down the spine to the Aussie bowlers. It's high time Ajinkya Rahane utilizes his skills and make merry for the Men in Blue, else this could be the beginning of the end for the Mumbaikar.

Rahane will be an important batsman for India

Mitchell Starc

Pace, Swing, and Aggression the three words that define Mitchell Starc. The injured plagued left-arm fast bowler can give sleepless nights to the Indian batting line-up. With Starc openly quoting that he is going to focus more on playing Tests for Australia rather than T20 leagues such as IPL across the world (after being released from KKR), it would be interesting to see how he goes about his game.

The Australian selectors provided him some match time in the final match of T20 series in a bid to be ready for Tests. He bowled well with figures of 1-26 (4 overs) and getting the in-form Shikhar Dhawan trapped in front.

Starc knows the conditions well and along with Pat Cummins and Josh Hazelwood, Indian batsmen must play their skins out to survive the pace, swing, and bounce the trio possess.

Starc will be a tough nut to crack for the Indian batsmen

Murali Vijay

This could probably be the last chance for Murali Vijay to retain his place in the Test side. A poor outing will all but for sure see him being dropped from the side as there are plenty of young guns such as Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shah raring to go.

Vijay was the Mr. Dependable when India toured Australia and England a few years ago, but that has changed upside down. The Monk fondly called by his teammates, Vijay was the perfect fit at the top of the order as he plays and leaves a lot of balls, has the patience, and the technique. Off-late he fends a lot of balls outside the Off stump which results in getting out.

Vijay had a very poor series in England with scores of 20, 6, 0, 0 following which he was released from the Indian team. But he did well to redeem his batting by playing for the Essex and scoring a lot of runs. With CSK management retaining him and the Indian team management showing a lot of faith in him, the Indian fans would surely want Vijay along with KL Rahul to score a truck a load of runs down under this time around.

Vijay would want to put up a good show with his bat