Cricket lovers in India would, in all probability, begin rising early from today. This is because the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, one of the most intensely competitive and captivating Test match series featuring Australia and India, begins at Perth today. India has been one of the rare Asian sides to have tasted success while playing in Australia. India beat the Australians in Australia in 2018-19; they went on to repeat their feat in 2020-21. But this Indian side has quite a few chips on its troubled shoulders. India were blanked out by New Zealand — at home — raising quite a few uncomfortable questions about the team in the process. India will also be a depleted side for the first Test with Rohit Sharma, the Test captain, and Mohammed Shami, an old war horse of a bowler, being ruled out for one or more Tests. Some of India’s star batsmen — Virat Kohli and K.L. Rahul, in particular — have been struggling for form. The Indian bowling attack appears to lack teeth and experience with Jasprit Bumrah being the sole exception. It will take immense mental fortitude and courage on the part of Indians to repeat their glories Down Under in the recent past. This will be a test of not only India’s young cricketers but also the coaching staff who, under Gautam Gambhir, have seen more failure than success. An honourable performance at Perth might set the tone for the series. India also need to do well in Australia for an immediate, pragmatic reason. The outcome of the Test series would have a bearing on India’s performance in the World Test Championship, which is increasingly becoming a benchmark to assess the long-term performance of a side in the most challenging format of the game.

The interest generated by the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India and around the world augurs well for the future of Test cricket. This is, undoubtedly, the era of the truncated versions of cricket. Twenty20 cricket and its midget avatars have taken cricket’s global viewership by storm. Yet, an estimated 75 million viewers had watched India taking on Australia in the Test matches played Down Under in 2021. There is a case for the International Cricket Council to make India’s Test series with Australia, England and perhaps South Africa into five-match engagements. That would not only test the mettle of the teams but also ensure greater interest in cricket’s real format.