“They have just been whitewashed at home” – Michael Vaughan pulls Wasim Jaffer's legs ahead of BGT 2024-25

Former England captain Michael Vaughan dropped a cheeky reply to erstwhile India opener Wasim Jaffer a day ahead of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The first Test of the five-match series starts in Perth on Friday, November 22. Vaughan replied that India cannot afford to lose the five-match Test series Down Under after suffering a whitewash by New Zealand at home.

The reaction came after Jaffer pointed out the tourists have nothing to lose as they attempt a hat-trick of Test series wins in Australia. He added that heads will turn if Australia lose another home series with many star players on the verge of retirement.

The two former cricketers often pull each other legs on social media.

Vaughan quoted Jaffer on X:

“Of course, India have something to Lose Wasim .. they have just been whitewashed at home .. they can't afford another heavy beating ..”

Earlier, Jaffer wrote on the micro-blogging website:

“I think there's more pressure on Aus than Ind. Aus haven't beaten Ind in 10 years. They lost back-to-back at home. If they lose one more, heads are going to roll. They've few ageing superstars who won't get another crack at Ind if they lose. India have nothing to lose.”

Notably, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane led India to 2-1 identical series wins in Australia in the 2018-19 and 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Ravi Shastri served as India’s head coach during both successful tours.

No Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill for opening Test ahead of 1st Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test

India captain Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill will miss the opening Test of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth.

Rohit is enjoying a paternity leave after becoming a father to a baby boy this month, his second child after Samaira (born in 2018). Vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah will lead the side in Rohit’s absence. Meanwhile, Gill sustained an injury on his left thumb during the intra-squad match.

India’s squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Washington Sundar.

Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed (replaced by Yash Dayal).

Schedule:

November 22-26: 1st Test at Perth Stadium

December 6-10: 2nd Test at Adelaide Oval

December 14-18: 3rd Test at The Gabba in Brisbane

December 26-30: 4th or Boxing Day Test at MCG in Melbourne

January 3-7: 5th Test at SCG in Sydney