Virender Sehwag has predicted a “3-0 or a 3-1” win for India against Australia in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar series, and hailed the current side, which have won eight of their last nine Tests, as the best he has seen.
Sehwag singled out the all-round strength of Virat Kohli’s side as the key factor that differentiates them from the Indian sides of the past. “The balance that this team has, the quality of their fast bowlers and spinners accompanied by the batting firepower makes this the best Indian team. This team has the capability of winning a Test series abroad,” Sehwag was quoted as saying by PTI.
A few days ago, veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh had also rubbished the Australian side’s chances, calling it the weakest to tour India.
While hailing India’s phenomenal run in their home season, the former India opener also warned that the law of averages might catch up with the No.1 Test team, “This team has been playing fantastic cricket. They have won eight of their last nine Tests and that is a great achievement. But the law of averages catches up with every team and in my reading, there will be a Test in this series where the bowling might not fire or the batsmen will slip up,” Sehwag added.
Skipper Kohli has been on a dream run of form, scoring a 1206 runs at 86.14 in the aforementioned nine games, and Sehwag expects him to break more records. “Virat [Kohli] has matured hugely. He is a world-class player and I think that he might break all records in a format by the time he calls time on his career,” the 38-year-old said.
In the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Sehwag will be the mentor and head of Cricket Operations and Strategy for Kings XI Punjab. When asked about Rising Pune Supergiants stripping MS Dhoni from captaincy, Sehwag had only praise for the World Cup winning Indian skipper.
“I am happy that he isn’t captain because maybe now my team, Kings XI Punjab, can beat this Pune team. On a serious note, I believe that this is an internal decision of the franchise but he is one of the best ever captains India has ever had,” Sehwag added.