IND vs AUS: Mohammed Shami boldly declares India 'favorites' for BGT, warns Pat Cummins' Australia

The 34-year-old India National Cricket Team right-arm pacer Mohammed Shami has come up with a stern warning for Pat Cummins' Australia National Cricket Team ahead of the high-profile Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.

Australia have not defeated India in the Border-Gavaskar series for a decade, with their last series win coming in 2014-15 when they won 2-0. Since then, India have won four consecutive series in 2016-17 at home, 2018-19 in Australia, 2020-21 in Australia, and 2022-23 in India, with all series victories coming by the margin of 2-1.

This time, meanwhile, things are going to be different as India and Australia will lock horns in a five-match Test series instead of a four-match series.

The first Test will be played in Perth from November 22, and the second pink-ball Test will be played in Adelaide from December 6. After that, the rest of the matches will be held in Brisbane (December 14-18), Melbourne (December 26-30), and Sydney (January 3-7).

Ahead of the iconic series, Mohammed Shami shared his thoughts on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He highlighted India's dominance over the last decade and said that India would enter the series as favorites and that Australia needed to worry about the visitors.

“We have beaten Australia twice,” Mohammed Shami told reporters on the sidelines of the Cricket Association of Bengal’s (CAB) Annual Awards Ceremony on Saturday, as quoted by Revsportz.

“In 2018 and 2020-21. And the most important thing is we have done so in Australia. They may not have expected us to do so. And yet we did. So when we travel down under, Australia need to think about us and not the other way round.

"Favourites toh hum hi hai, chinta unhe honi chahiye (We are the favourites; they should be worried),” Mohammed Shami was quoted as saying by PTI.

I was not ready to let my team suffer by breaking down - Mohammed Shami

Mohammed Shami was also asked a question related to injuries and whether it had created self-doubts for him. Responding to this Mohammed Shami gave a brilliant reply showcasing his commitment to India National Cricket Team.

The premier pacer said that he was carrying injuries in the 2015 and 2023 World Cups and he was ready to bear the pain to play for his country in the marquee tournament. Shami said that he didn't have any self-doubts and believed in himself, advising the youngsters to do a similar thing. He said:

“During the 2015 World Cup and again the 2023 World Cup, I was carrying injuries. There was pain in my heel, but the only question I asked doctors was that how confident were they that I wouldn’t collapse in the middle of a game.

"I was not ready to let my team suffer by breaking down, and that was the only concern. When they said I would need to bear the pain, I was fine with it. My threshold is very high, and I know I can play with pain. You don’t often get an opportunity to play a World Cup on home soil and do well."

“I needed to make the opportunity count and did not want to regret it later. I was ready to sacrifice a few months after the World Cup if I was able to serve my country during the tournament. Yahi baat hai. Aapko self-doubt nahi hona chahiye. Agar aap khud pe believe karte ho and you know ki aap yeh cheez kar sakte ho, aap zarur kar paoge

"[That’s the thing. You shouldn’t have self-doubt. If you believe in yourself and think you can do something, you will definitely do it]. You have to work the hardest to do so, but there is no doubt you will be able to. And that’s why there should never be self-doubt when you want something badly.]"

Mohammed Shami is currently out of action following his Achilles tendon surgery and is likely to make a comeback to the national team in the Border-Gavaskar series.