'Australia Will Remind Them...' - Doull Predicts Pre-Planned Sledging For Rohit Sharma And Co

Ex-New Zealand player Simon Doull (Source: @cricggfan/x.com)Ex-New Zealand player Simon Doull (Source: @cricggfan/x.com)

Former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull believes Australia will wait to taunt India and not let them forget about their recent whitewash. India had a forgetful time in the three-match Test series against the Kiwis at multiple venues.

India Fail Miserably On Self-Curated Pitches

After their loss in the first Test at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, the Rohit Sharma-led side was expected to come better prepared for the subsequent two assignments. However, watching India perform on a pitch they chose slowly and steadily became a sight one did not want to behold.

Even in the second Test in Pune, New Zealand's Mitchell Santner single-handedly outsmarted the Indian side on a spin-friendly slow track. The Indian batters consistently faltered and failed on each pitch they had confidently presumed to be a challenge for the BlackCaps. 

Rohit Sharma And Co Falter Massively In Final Test

Moreover, the most disappointing point came during the Wankhede Test as Indian bowlers, particularly Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, bowled exceptionally well throughout and even restricted the Tom Latham led-side for a chasable score. However, once again, the batters failed miserably. Everyone except Rishabh Pant departed for low scores, and eventually, India lost the game by 25 runs.

With such a significant loss and scare at home, one can only wonder what would unfold when India travels to Australia for the highly-anticipated Border Gavaskar Trophy 24-2025. At the moment, India's WTC Final qualification is at stake as they need to secure four wins from just five games in order to make it. 

Reflecting on India's position, Doull highlighted how Pat Cummins' Australia would not let this whitewash slide and would constantly remind the Indian side of this failure, which had last occurred in 2002 before this. Speaking on JioCinema, Doull said: 

"Yes, India has certainly won the last two series that India has played in Australia, so that's a good part. But then when you go on the back of a three-nil whitewash to Australia, I'm sure the whole of Australia will be waiting and reminding them about this every single minute, every single moment that they step into Australia.

Four wins, one draw is what they needed. And a lot of tough questions to be answered for Rohit Sharma and his men. It will require a lot of strength of character to bounce back from this. I mean it's the same set of players who are travelling to Australia and it's never easy going to Australia,” he added. 

Doull Explains What Went Wrong For India

Furthermore, he also explained what went wrong for India and described that India’s success at home was built around using spin attacks and preparing pitches that would assist the batters. However, he also admitted that the visitors could match with India, they were in serious trouble throughout.

"What's happened now is they've let opposition spinners in, and with all due respect, Tom Hartley and Mitchell Santner are guys that you would not say would come here and be high-quality Test match bowlers. The reason India have had success at home predominantly is that in conditions that are decent for batting, they've had the two best spinners in the world,” Doull said.

Meanwhile, India will play their first Test against Australia at Perth starting from November 22.