After Australia whitewash New Zealand, Shane Warne bats for five-Test series against India

What’s the story?

After Australia completed a 3-0 whitewash in the Test series against New Zealand, Shane Warne opined that he would love for the India-Australia series, slated to be played next summer, to be a five-match affair.

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Australia capped off their spotless summer by thumping New Zealand by 279 runs at the Sydney Cricket Ground on the 6th of January. Nathan Lyon starred with the ball with a ten-wicket haul while Marnus Labuschagne set up the game, courtesy an exquisite double ton in the hosts’ first innings.

The heart of the matter

As part of the ICC World Test Championship, the Aussies are scheduled to welcome India towards the end of 2020. However, so far, the number of Tests the pair would engage in hasn’t been known, although there have been murmurs of it being a four-game rubber.

Warne, though, felt that it would be better if India and Australia clashed swords for a five-Test series, especially considering the sides’ pedigree in the longest format. He opined,

I would love for the India-Australia series to be a five-match series, like the Ashes. India are deservedly the top Test team in the world and the Aussies seem to be the second-best. So, a series where they would play across all different conditions, in Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney, with a couple of day-night encounters in between, would be great. The series has the potential to be one of the all-time best.

However, despite the leg-spinner’s comments, it seems unlikely that India would take part in a couple of day-night fixtures Down Under. Though the Indians recently contested their first pink-ball Test against Bangladesh, Sourav Ganguly, the BCCI president had also stated that playing two day-night games in Australia could just be a ‘little too much’.

Also see – World Test Championship points table

What’s next?

With several assignments lined up for both nations, it remains to be seen when the fixture list is drawn up and if it would indeed contain a five-match rubber, as hoped for by Warne.