Indian batting great Sunil Gavaskar and former Australia opener Justin Langer on Friday said Virat Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal could have avoided attempting the “risky” single that led to the latter’s run-out, giving Australia a potentially decisive breakthrough in the fourth Test in Melbourne. Jaiswal, who made a breezy 118-ball 82 on the second day of the game, was way short of his crease after a mix-up with Kohli (36) while attempting a quick single. “It would have been a quick run, and somebody like Virat Kohli would definitely have made it. But the thing was, he looked at the fielder. When you look at the fielder, when you turn, you’ve lost that vital second. Your balance is completely off. And it would have been a tight run,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.

“I think at that stage, why do you need to take a run that carries an element of risk? You’re batting well, runs are coming. At that stage, the risk was not really necessary.” Gavaskar, however, added that Kohli could have completed the run if had fully committed himself to it “only because Kohli is such a fantastic runner” between the wickets. The horrible mix-up led to Jaiswal’s run out and affected Kohli’s concentration, who then fished at a delivery outside off-stump.

Langer said, “I thought it was a risky run because Pat Cummins is a brilliant athlete. Even if he hadn’t picked it up, in the head of Pat Cummins, he would have gone for the non-striker. It would have been close, but I thought it was a risky run.

“At that stage of the game, there was no need for it. They were on top. They had it absolutely under control. As fast as he is, I thought it was too risky a run to take. I love seeing guys drop and run hard, but that was a risky run. I think that’s what Virat was saying.” A familiar collapse unfolded after Jaiswal’s exit as India stumbled to 164/5. The visitors trail by 310 after the hosts posted 474 all out in their first innings.

Gavaskar said India need to put their “head down” and try and get as close as possible to Australia’s total. Ravindra Jadeja and Rishabh Pant were in the middle when stumps were called.

“Jadeja batted really well at Gabba, so he needs to bring in the same application here as well. Pant is the kind of player who we know can take the game apart. So we need another — India needs another 100-plus partnership.

“It’s not just about saving the follow-on. India needs to spend a little more time at the crease tomorrow. Even if they can take it till post-lunch, they give themselves a very good chance.” Gavaskar also feels seasoned off-spinner Nathan Lyon will “come into play on the third day.” “He hasn’t had much of a role to play in the entire series, but now, with what we saw from Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja bowling, they were getting the ball to grip, turn, and maybe get a little more bounce as well.

“So Nathan Lyon will certainly enjoy bowling to the left-handers. There are three left-handers now, two at the crease, with Washington Sundar still to bat. He will probably be used a little more.” The legendary batter added, “Clearly, India needs to put their heads down. Like I said, they have to try and take their first innings past lunch, maybe as close to tea as possible, and therefore get as close as possible to the Australian total.

“Australia will not give you the follow-on, make no mistake. Even if India falls short of 274, Australia will not give you the follow-on. They’ll want to bat you out of the game.”

Former Australia head coach Justin Langer heaped rich praise on Jasprit Bumrah, calling India’s fast-bowling spearhead a right-handed equivalent of legendary Pakistan left-arm pacer Wasim Akram. Bumrah has taken 21 wickets at an average of 10.90 to be the leading wicket-taker of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, including a five-wicket haul in Perth and a six-fer in Brisbane. He has also dismissed Australia openers Usman Khawaja and Nathan McSweeney four times each in the series so far.

“I would hate to face him. He is like Wasim Akram. For me, he is a right-hand version of Wasim Akram, and every time I am asked the question ‘Who is the best bowler you have ever faced’, I say Wasim Akram.”

“They have got good pace and the great bowlers just hit the same spot every time, and they have got a good bouncer, so it makes them a bloody nightmare. He has got the ability to swing the ball both ways, his seam is literally picture perfect.”

“If you present a perfect seam and it comes perfectly out of the fingers as it does with him, you get the double whammy, swing in the right conditions and if it hits the rope it can go either way. That’s what Akram used to do and was a nightmare to face,” he added.

“I would hate to face Bumrah. He’s a great competitor, he bowls good pace and he’s just awesome. I said at the start of the series, if Bumrah stays fit, it is going to be a really tough summer for the Australian batters, if he doesn’t, then I think Australia will win the series easily, and I still maintain that,” said Langer to The Nightly on Thursday.

Langer also expressed surprise by the sudden retirement of veteran India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin after the third Test at Brisbane ended in a draw, citing that the visitors’ could turn to him for at least one of the two remaining Tests in Melbourne and Sydney.

Ashwin’s last international game was the day-night Test against Australia in Adelaide, where he took 1-53 in his 18 overs and made 29 runs with the bat, as India lost by ten wickets.

“I was surprised Ashwin retired because I thought they would use him and (Ravindra) Jadeja – go to their big guns for maybe Melbourne and definitely Sydney. I think Melbourne and Sydney are as likely to suit India as the other two venues,” he added.

Langer signed off by believing Australia will not make any changes in terms of its batting make-up, despite its top-order misfiring, for the crunch Test in Melbourne, starting from next Thursday.

“I can’t see them making any changes now at 1-1 in the series. There will be some discussions about a few players, but my gut feeling is they will keep it the same,” said Langer.

Ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy starting in Perth on November 22, former Australian cricketer and head coach Justin Langer cautioned against underestimating the Indian team, saying one should never write off champions. India has won its previous two Test tours of Australia by identical 2-1 margins, but heads into the upcoming marquee series on the back of a 3-0 home series defeat at the hands of New Zealand earlier this month. “One thing you never do is write off champions, and that’s in every sport, because they are a champion for a reason. In India, there are one and a half billion cricket-loving people, and then count all the rest around the world, they expect nothing but excellence, and the team will be under intense pressure, so how they fight back will be important.

“And they’ll be getting written off for being too old, but people say that all the time, and I just can’t wait to see them play. I just hope, if this is the last time (Kohli) is out here, people enjoy it because he is a superstar, so is Rohit Sharma, so is (Ravi) Ashwin, so is (Ravi) Jadeja, so is (Jasprit) Bumrah.

“It’s the same with the Australians; the bowling attack is a very senior attack now… so really enjoy it while you can; they are not going to be around forever,” said Langer to The West Australian on Sunday.

India has to win at least four games on their Test tour of Australia if they are to enter next year’s World Test Championship final at Lord’s. Langer thinks that India, in their bid to recover from their defeat to New Zealand, could well turn out to be a dangerous opponent for Australia, who have landed in Perth on Sunday to prepare for the first Test.

“India losing to New Zealand is a bit like North Melbourne beating Brisbane in the grand final at the moment. And not for one millisecond is that disrespect for New Zealand, because they are the great overachievers; they are brilliant.

“I think they’d won two Test matches (in India), and to win the series 3-0, that’s an amazing achievement. They’ve just been beaten three-nil by New Zealand, so India will be humbled by that and equally determined to remedy it because the pressure on them will be intense,” he concluded.

Their objective of forming a strong core achieved with the retention of men like Nicholas Pooran and Mayank Yadav, Lucknow Super Giants are now aiming to bring back their players from last year’s squad in the upcoming IPL mega auction, said head coach Justin Langer on Saturday. LSG ended retained five players — four of whom are Indians, and two of whom are uncapped, including swashbuckling West Indian batter Pooran.

“We are really pleased with announcing the four of the most talented Indian players in the country at the moment. We are setting a base for those strong Indian players — Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Ayush Badoni, Mohsin Khan — four incredibly talented players and I’m excited about that,” Langer said in a video posted on X by the franchise.

“Nicholas Pooran is a dynamic player in world cricket and we can’t wait to see him in action again. We have got one more Right To Match (RTM) and we are hoping to pick up as many of our players as possible from last year in the auction.

“Mr Goenka has thought long and hard about this and like I have said, we have talked over and over all the possibilities,” the former Australia opener said.

LSG released KL Rahul before the team submitted its list of retained players by the October 31 deadline.

Rahul, who had captained the team for the three seasons since it came into existence in 2022, was let go following LSG’s seventh-place finish in IPL 2024.

Rahul will now go into the mega auction.

“The retention for next year’s IPL was really tough. There were lots of very careful deliberations, strong considerations to come up list of retentions,” Langer said.

The side will go into the mega auction with a purse of Rs 69 crore.

West Indies batter Pooran was retained for a whopping Rs 21 crore, the joint second-most paid to a player in this retention cycle along with Royal Challengers Bengaluru talisman Virat Kohli and behind only Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Heinrich Klaasen (Rs 23 crore).

Rahul was LSG’s top-scorer in IPL 2024 with 520 runs at a strike rate of 136, but Pooran’s 499 runs came at a strike rate of 178.

Bishnoi (Rs 11 crore), Mayank (Rs 11 crore), Mohsin (Rs 4 crore) and Badoni (Rs 11 crore) are the other players retained by LSG.