Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25: Rating all India players based on their performances. (Source – BCCI/Twitter)
Australia handed India an embarrassing 3-1 defeat in the 2024-25 edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The visitors arrived Down Under following a 3-0 defeat to New Zealand at home, which put them in a complicated state as to cement their place in the World Test Championship finale, the Rohit Sharma-led side had to Australia 4-0 in the five-match series.
The captain missed the opening game of the series in Perth for the birth of his second child but that didn’t damp the spirit of the Indian team, which defeated the hosts by 295 runs. Youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal and senior batter Virat Kohli registered a century each, while ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah led by example, clinching eight wickets and was adjudged Player of the Match.
Nothing has gone in India’s favour since. They didn’t look prepared for the Pink Ball challenge, as Australia bagged a 10-wicket win in Adelaide. The third Test at Gabba ended in a draw after rain played spoilsport. With the series being locked level at 1-1, India still had the opportunity to win or at least, level the series and bring back the trophy to the sub-continent.
They lost by 184 runs at Melbourne in the fourth Test and in the fifth, the Pat Cummins-led side handed them a six-wicket defeat. With that, the Kangaroos managed to win their first Border-Gavaskar Trophy in almost a decade.
Indian players, particularly batters, looked miserable throughout the series. Rohit, despite being the captain was dropped at one stage and others failed to leave a significant mark. It turned out to be Bumrah vs Australia at one stage, and with him getting ruled out of the second innings of the Sydney Test, things became easy for Australia as they comfortably sealed the series.
Here’s rating of all Indian players’ performances in BGT 2024-25
1. Yashasvi Jaiswal – 8/10
Yashasvi Jaiswal. (Photo Source: Getty Images)
It was Yashasvi Jaiswal’s first tour to Australia and the 23-year-old did reasonably well and managed to finish the series as India’s leading run-scorer. He started the series with a duck as the Mumbai batter failed to deal with Mitchell Starc but Jaiswal learned it quickly and made 161 in the second innings in Perth. He was fantastic in the Melbourne Test as well scoring 82 and 84 runs respectively. Jaiswal finished the series with 391 runs at an average of 43.44, which is great but there’s room to get better.
2. KL Rahul – 6/10
KL Rahul. (Source – Getty Images)
KL Rahul was expected to warm the bench when his name was announced for the series. Rohit was announced to miss the first Test, and with Abhimanyu Easwaran in the squad, it was expected that the Bengal cricketer would debut. However, Rahul proved his value and moved ahead in the pecking order. He opened with Jaiswal in Perth and made 77 runs in the second innings. It helped the cricketer retain his spot even when Rohit returned.
However, he failed to make a mark in Adelaide, but he hit 84 runs at Gabba, which ended in a draw. In Melbourne, he batted at three and made 24 and 0, while in Sydney 32-year-old scored 4 and 3 respectively. Rahul showed promise early on but failed to live up to the expectations. He ended up scoring 276 runs in five matches, which is not good, especially given that he has experience and batted at the top of the order.
3. Virat Kohli – 3/10
Virat Kohli being caught by Beau Webster (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
What could have been and what it turned out to be. Virat Kohli had all the experience and talent that was required for him to succeed in what arguably was his last Test tour to Australia. He was the first Indian cricketer to arrive in the country and started training and was in good spirits. In Perth, he struggled in the first innings but scored a terrific ton in the second, which gave him plenty of confidence.
With him scoring runs and India winning, it gave the fans hope but it turned out to be a nightmare. Since then, Kohli has got out to the outside off-stamp delivery seven out of eight times. He was initially taking time to settle down and repeated the same mistake time and again, which was not acceptable, given his experience. Australian bowlers kept bowling at the same length and it turned out to be a matter of time before Kohli nicked one. He ended up scoring 190 runs in five matches at an average of 23.75 and with that, there have been talks of him retiring from the longest format.
4. Rishabh Pant – 4.5/10
Rishabh Pant Sydney 5th Test (Source: by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Rishabh Pant was expected to be India’s one of the best if not the best batter in the Australia series. He was phenomenal when the team last toured Down Under and Pant was anticipated to live up to the potential in the five-match series as well. However, that didn’t happen. The keeper-batter registered only one half-century and ended up scoring 255 runs in five matches at an average of 28.33.
Pant also made the headlines for Sunil Gavaskar’s famous ‘Stupid, Stupid, Stupid’ comment during the fourth Test at Melbourne. The 27-year-old gifted his wicket to Scott Boland while attempting to play a reverse scoop. He failed to time it on the previous ball as well but yet, but Pant tried to repeat it and in time, the ball hit the top edge and went straight to Nathan Lyon. He tried to redeem his mistake in the three innings but nothing could save India from back-to-back defeats.
5. Ravindra Jadeja – 5/10
Ravindra Jadeja. (Source – Getty Images)
Ravindra Jadeja was dropped from the first and second Tests at Perth and Adelaide respectively. Washington Sundar was the first-choice spinner in Perth while Ravichandran Ashwin played the Day-Night Test. On his return to the playing XI, the all-rounder played a crucial knock of 77 runs, which helped India post 260 at Gabba. If not for his innings, India could have suffered another defeat as well.
In the Melbourne Test, Jadeja picked up three wickets in the first innings and one in the second but failed to deliver with the bat. In Sydney, he wasn’t good enough and it won’t be surprising if the team management looks beyond him for the England series, especially with the likes of Kuldeep Yadav, and Tanush Kotian available.
6. Nitish Kumar Reddy – 8/10
Nitish Kumar Reddy. (Photo by Morgan Hancock – CACricket Australia via Getty Images)
Nitish Kumar Reddy was one of the biggest positives in a series where most things didn’t go well in India’s favour. There were questions asked when the all-rounder was selected for the series, as the 21-year-old didn’t have enough experience in first-class cricket. Yet, the team management backed him and Reddy has played his role perfectly.
He made 298 runs in five matches at an average of 37.25. The Visakhapatnam-born cricketer also clinched five wickets. With more support from the other end, the Visakhapatnam-born cricketer could have produced better performances in both Perth and Adelaide. He registered his maiden international ton at MCG and has arguably cemented his spot in India’s Test squad.
7. Washington Sundar – 4/10
Washington Sundar. (Photo Source: Getty Images)
Washington Sundar scored 114 runs in three matches at an average of 22.80. He played an important 50-run knock in Melbourne but apart from that, Sundar had an average series. The 25-year-old didn’t bowl much as it wasn’t required and the visitors mostly played him to extend their lower-order batting. However, Sundar failed to live up to the expectations.
8. Shubman Gill – 2/10
Shubman Gill. (Photo Source: Getty Images)
Shubman Gill is considered to be a player with immense potential but when it comes to his numbers away from home in Test cricket, the youngster failed to live up to his potential. Even in the series against Australia, Gill managed to score only 93 runs in three matches at an average of 18.60. His form is a massive concern and the 25-year-old needs to improve significantly to cement his spot in the playing XI. He was dropped from the playing XI in the Melbourne Test and the team won’t hesitate to repeat it if he fails to improve.
9. Harshit Rana – 3/10
Harshit Rana.(Photo Source – Twitter/BCCI)
Harshit Rana made his Test debut in Perth and clinched a three-wicket haul in the first innings. He picked up another one in the second as India won by 295 runs. The 23-year-old was impressive in the practice match against PM XI ahead of the Adelaide Test, where he picked up a four-wicket haul. However, he struggled heavily in the Pink-Ball Test, where the Delhi-born leaked 86 runs and since then, he hasn’t featured in the playing XI. He has the potential but is still very raw.
10. Mohammed Siraj – 6/10
Mohammed Siraj.(Photo Source – Getty Images)
Mohammed Siraj bagged 20 wickets in five matches and finished as the fourth-leading wicket-taker of the series. He lacked character at times and there were questions raised about his performance but the 30-year-old grind hard and showed his worth in the last couple of matches. Despite so, one may expect Siraj to produce better performances, especially when Bumrah was carrying the bowling unit for the majority part of the series. Siraj ended up having a decent series but consistency is one area that he needs to address soon.
11. Jasprit Bumrah – 10/10
Jasprit Bumrah. (Photo by Daniel Pockett – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)
What more can Jasprit Bumrah do? Whenever India were under any kind of threat, Bumrah came back into the attack and helped the visitors get back into the contest. He clinched 32 wickets in five matches and without a doubt, was India’s best performer in all five games. Despite Australia clinching the series rather comfortably, Bumrah was adjudged Player of the Series and that tells the kind of impact, the pacer had.
Interestingly, the Australian players admitted being relieved when they learned that Bumrah wouldn’t bowl in the second innings of the Sydney Test. Had he been there, the story could have been different. That’s the kind of impact Bumrah had and finished as the leading wicket-taker of the series.
12. Akash Deep – 5/10
Akash Deep. (Source – BCCI)
Akash Deep played the third and fourth Test at Gabba and Melbourne respectively. He replaced Harshit Rana in the playing XI and scored 31 important runs in the third Test and also picked up three wickets. In Melbourne, he picked up two but couldn’t deliver with the bat. Nevertheless, the 28-year-old was fantastic with the ball but wasn’t very lucky. He bowled in the right line that exposed the Australian batters multiple times but it didn’t lead to wickets, which was unfortunate.
13. Prasidh Krishna – 6/10
Prasidh krishna. (Photo Source: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
Prasidh Krishna played only one Test and ended up being the third-leading wicket-taker for India. He replaced Akash in the final Test and even though he lacked lacklustre early on, Krishna bounced back well and clinched back-to-back three-wicket hauls in Sydney. He gave early breakthroughs in the second innings which gave India some hope to win the fifth Test but that didn’t materialise well. However, Krishna proved his worth.
14. Devdutt Padikkal – 2/10
Devdutt Padikkal. (Source – Getty Images)
Devdutt Padikkal featured only in the first Test in the absence of Shubman Gill. He showed tremendous potential in the training sessions which helped him get into the playing XI but the cricketer failed to deliver. He made 25 runs in the second innings of the Perth Test and since then, the 24-year-old wasn’t considered for selection.
15. Dhruv Jurel – 1/10
Dhruv Jurel. ( Source – Twitter / X)
Like Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel was stunning in training sessions that led to his selection to the Perth Test. However, Jurel made only 11 and 1 run respectively in two innings and since then, he wasn’t considered for selection again. Whatever the little wicketkeeping he did was praiseworthy, but once Rohit Sharma walked in for the remainder of the series, Jurel could do nothing but warm the bench.
16. Ravichandran Ashwin – 1/10
Ravi Ashwin. (Photo Source: Getty Images)
One of the legends of the game, Ravichandran Ashwin announced his retirement after the Gabba Test. He played the Day-Night Test in Adelaide, where the veteran clinched only one wicket and was again dropped from the Gabba game. Reports claimed that the off-spinner was frustrated with the lack of opportunities that led to his decision of retirement but he is yet to comment on the matter.
16. Rohit Sharma – 0.5/10
Rohit Sharma. (Photo Source – (Photo by Matt Roberts – Cricket Australia via Getty Images)
India captain Rohit Sharma had an awful time in the series. He missed the opening game in Perth and upon return, he switched to number six as KL Rahul looked in good touch at the top of the order. The veteran failed to make a mark and moved to opening in Melbourne but he once again struggled to score runs. He dropped himself from the Sydney Test and since then, there have been talks of him getting axed from the red-ball squad.
The 37-year-old played three Test matches in the series and scored 31 runs at an average of 6.20. His captaincy skills were also not up to the mark, which further doubts his credibility and put him in a difficult spot as far as Test cricket is concerned.