Border-Gavaskar Trophy Preview: Players to watch

In this Border-Gavaskar preview series, we are going to dive in-depth looking at the players from both sides most likely to have a pivotal role in deciding the outcome of the Australian Test Summer. Not only will these players impact the series result, but also their team’s chances of reaching Lords for the final of the World Test Championship 2025.

There is no one better to start with than the under-pressure Indian Captain, Rohit Sharma. India's Test captain and opening batsman represents a fascinating evolution in modern Test cricket. Initially pigeonholed as a limited-overs specialist, he transformed into a formidable Test opener after a decade in international cricket. His elegant batting style, particularly strong against fast bowling with his trademark pull shot, has shown at times he can be effective in Australian conditions. While his early Test career showed promise but lacked consistency, his promotion to opening batsman in 2019 proved transformative, resulting in crucial overseas performances and establishing him as one of Test cricket's most watchable top-order players.

Below we have analysed 3 key areas that are worth noting:

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Less of a threat with the bat while captaining India?

Numbers don’t lie. Since taking over as captain, Rohit Sharma has averaged 34.88 across a large sample size of 21 test matches. This can be seen as alarming when compared to his overall test record of averaging 42.28, a considerable drop in performance. While all batsmen go through slumps, it’s impossible not to speculate whether Sharma is not handling the pressures of captaincy all that well.

Coming off the back of a 3-0 whitewash vs the Kiwis, it's not hard to think that if Rohit does not regain form during the Australian series, and India does not win, there may be a change of captaincy just around the corner.

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Do his numbers in SENA countries show those of a world-class player?

There is no doubt that Sharma is a class. He is a match-winner in all conditions of his day and has played quality knocks all over the world. However, his dominance in home conditions may be masking a little bit of a weakness against the seaming and swinging new ball.

Across all matches in Australia, NZ, England, and South Africa, Rohit has played 22 test matches. His numbers read 1 x 100s and 6 x 50s from 44 innings at an average of 30.92. These numbers do not cut it for an Indian batter.

Rohit needs to make a statement against Australia and show he can bat big and bat long against Cummins, Hazlewood and Starc

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Rohit’s influence on India’s results as a batsman, especially for the Border-Gavaskar trophy

Most good international batman score runs fairly consistently. However, what sets great players apart from good players is the influence their runs have on the team’s results. This more than anything else is why Rohit needs to get himself going in Australia. Since debuting in 2013, Rohit has scored 4278 runs at an average of 42.28.

In Test match wins, Sharma has scored 2985 runs at an average of 57.40. In losses, he has scored 723 runs at 20.08. This is the most important statistic of this article. It is pretty simple. When Rohit Sharma bats well, India wins test matches. When Rohit Sharma does not bat well, India loses test matches.

Based on the numbers displayed in this report, things are simple. Rohit needs to find a way to be able to perform his core role as one of the world's best opening batsmen while managing to captain a team low on confidence. If he bats well, India still has a chance of staying alive in the World Test Championship and retaining the Border-Gavaskar trophy.