IND vs AUS: Sure bets players like Cheteshwar Pujara have retired, they were exceptional in Australia: Hayden

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IND vs AUS: The build up for the India vs Australia five-match Test series which starts from November 2022 has already started, and Matthew Hayden has predicted that runs scored by batters would make the difference.

Talking to PTI on the sidelines of Ceat Cricket Rating Awards on Wednesday, the former Australia opener said out-of-favour India batter Cheteshwar Pujara "was a sure bet in India". He reckoned that the experienced right-hander would have given India a massive edge.

Pujara was the fourth-highest run-scorer in Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21 as he scored 271 runs in four matches by facing record 928 deliveries in the four-match series. During the 2018-19 tour, Pujara was the leading run-scorer with 521 runs at an average of 74.43 as India registered their first-ever series win on the Australia soil.

However, the Saurashtra batter has been dropped from the squad ever since India lost the final of World Test Championship against Australia last year. He wasn't even picked in the first round matches of Duleep Trophy recently. Pujara hasn't yet taken a call on his international career, but a return looks highly unlikely.

"You look at the lineups, and it's hard to really tell who has the edge. I sense that it's going to be runs that are going to be the point of difference. Guys that are sure bets have retired, like Pujara was a sure bet in Australian conditions," Hayden said.

"Was he exciting? No. Was he effective? Heck, yes. When you look back over the years, guys like Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman... they were really sure bets in our market. The best need to stand up in this series, runs are going to be at a premium," he added.

"Cricket is a game of momentum and I'm sure those two players, coming now to the later pages of their cricketing careers, will be very keen to dominate the landscape through the summer. That's their nature. They do it in very different ways, very different styles, but certainly they really are the key to the Australian summer," he said.

Kohli and Smith would look to dominate Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25

Hayden has also backed modern day greats Virat Kohli and Steve Smith to dominate the series. The two superstars cricketers have been the key highlights of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy over the years.

"Cricket is a game of momentum and I'm sure those two players, coming now to the later pages of their cricketing careers, will be very keen to dominate the landscape through the summer. That's their nature. They do it in very different ways, very different styles, but certainly they really are the key to the Australian summer," he said.

The former great also backed Pat Cummins' Australia to end their drought against India. Australia last won a bilateral Test series against India in 2014-15. Also, India have defeated Australia in Australia on the last two occasions, and are looking for a hat-trick of Test series wins down under.

"We haven't had it in our hands for two series in Australia, which is kind of the coveted grounds. Not that's similar to the Steve Waugh era here in 2001, where this was the hallowed turf, this was a place where Australia really wanted to come and win," he said.

"And his great era didn't do it. There's always this fantastic opportunity for the No. 1 No. 2 sides on the World Test Championship to go head to head, especially abroad in each other's camps and see who really has those kinds of final rights to claim not only the possibility of playing in the Test Championship but also who's the very best of the best, which you judge on how you tour, not so much how you play at home," he said.