Cricket Australia Writes Letter To BCCI Expressing Gratitude

Cricket Australia (CA) chairman Earl Eddings and interim CEO Nick Hockley have written an open letter to their Indian counterpart -the BCCI- after the Indian and Australian teams completed a successful series amidst difficult times due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

On Tuesday, January 19, a young Team India led by stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane beat Australia in the Border Gavaskar Trophy after breaching The Gabba fortress which ended Australia’s invincible winning streak since 1988.

Cricket Australia Will Be Grateful To BCCI For Friendship, Trust And Commitment

An inexperienced Team India beat a full-strength Australia in their own den and have turned the impossible into reality. Indian skipper Virat Kohli was absent in last 3 Tests as Ajinkya Rahane led brilliantly against Tim Paine’s Australia who were full strength, unlike India who struggled even to field an XI in 4th Test for a spate of injuries.

“Australian cricket will forever be grateful to the BCCI for their friendship, trust and commitment in helping to deliver a series that has brought joy to many millions of people around the world at a time they needed it most. The unique challenges of international touring during a global pandemic are considerable and we thank India’s players, coaches
and support staff for all they have given,” Cricket Australia wrote in its letter.

“Over the past nine weeks, the Indian and Australian men’s teams completed outstanding One-Day International and Twenty20 International series, followed by one of the greatest Border-Gavaskar Test series ever contested. Despite the many public health and logistical challenges, the BCCI engaged with a spirit of cooperation befitting their status as one of international sport’s greatest ambassadors,” Cricket Australia wrote.

Under Ajinkya Rahane, India won the Test series as a bunch of newcomers who were handed debuts in absence of injury-hit players performed excellently. Mohammed Siraj, Shubman Gill, T Natarajan, Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar were finds of the tour.

Cricket Australia Will Never Forget Sacrifices Of BCCI And Congratulates India For Resilience, Courage And Skill To Retain Test Series

India secured a 3 wicket win in 4th Test at Brisbane after an eight-wicket commendable win over Australia in the 2nd Boxing Day Test after losing 1st Test in Adelaide where the team suffered a horrifical batting collapse in 2nd innings. The win at Brisbane is more creditable as India did not have services of Virat Kohli (homebound), injury-hit Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah.

“From the sublime fast bowling of Jasprit Bumrah and Pat Cummins, to the wonderful batting of Ajinkya Rahane and Steve Smith, to the exciting debuts of Shubman Gill and Cameron Green – and much, much more – the past two months of cricket have been absolutely enthralling. We will never forget the sacrifices made by our friends at the BCCI
that made all this possible, ” Cricket Australia wrote on Instagram.

“May we also take this opportunity to thank everyone who played their part to deliver this memorable series – governments, health officials, venues, broadcast and commercial partners, cricket associations, players, match officials, staff and their families. On behalf of everyone at Cricket Australia, we congratulate Team India for the resilience, courage and skill demonstrated in retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in a series that will be talked about for generations to come.”

None predicted that India would come out all guns blazing on Day 5 of the Brisbane Test looking to go for a win. After all 328 had never been chased down at the Gabba before. Ajinkya Rahane’s men were expected to salvage a draw in the fourth and final Test. But the tourists had other plans.

India beat Australia in the Brisbane Test by 3 wickets riding on Rishabh Pant’s unbeaten 89 and Shubman Gill’s 91. India fielded a relatively inexperienced team especially in bowling department in 4th Test as pacer Mohammed Siraj was the most experienced playing 3 Tests in comparison to Australia’s spinner Nathan Lyon who played 100 Tests. All Australia’s frontline bowlers played more than 30 Tests.