‘Australia are known for their mind games’ – Ravichandran Ashwin takes a dig at Steve Smith’s comments ahead of Border-Gavaskar Trophy

India is all set to host Australia for a four-match Test series beginning on the 9th of February. The Border-Gavaskar Trophy is one of the most eagerly awaited Test series in cricket. The Indian national team has developed a fierce rivalry with Australia over the years, and every time the two teams meet, it is a spectacle to behold.

The first Test is set to begin in Nagpur, and the Indian team has already begun preparing for the match. Australia has failed to defeat India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the past three years, and they will be looking to change that this time.

Australian batter Steve Smith recently spoke out about his team not playing any tour matches before the series. Smith believes that training alone would benefit Australia more than playing tour games on irrelevant Indian pitches. Ravichandran Ashwin took note of the Australian batter’s comments and labelled them as “mind games,” which the Australians are notorious for.

According to Steve Smith, they practised on a green top in 2017, but the match was played on a rank turner. The right-handed batter believes that playing tour matches is pointless because the pitches differ from those used in practice.

Australia are known for their mind games: Ravichandran Ashwin

Ashwin characterised Smith’s remarks as the type of cricket and mind games that the Australian team likes to play before a series. He also stated that the Indian team has avoided playing warm-up matches in the past due to its hectic schedule.

“Smith said, ‘We got a green wicket in Brabourne and a completely opposite one in the first Test (during the 2017 series)’. In all fairness, it was a rank-turner in Pune. We might have given them the green track, but nobody plans all these things. However, Australia are known for their mind games and sledges before a series. They love doing that. It’s their style of cricket,” Ashwin said while previewing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on his YouTube channel.