Nothing Tougher Than Playing India In India: Marnus Labuschagne

The Australian team trampled all their opponents in their recently concluded summer, remaining unbeaten throughout before leaving for India for the three-match ODI series. Their home season witnessed Marnus Labuschagne amass 896 runs in five Tests at an average of 112, including a double-hundred against New Zealand at the Sydney Cricket Ground. After conquering Test cricket, the South African born batsman has set his sights on ODI cricket and labels India as one of the toughest venues to play in.

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The Queensland batsman, who is included in the touring party, captained by Aaron Finch, will head to India for his first One-day series. The men in yellow will play their first ODI on January 14th in Mumbai since being eliminated by England from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. And as the focus shifts to the limited-overs cricket, Labuschagne is preparing himself for a brief stint in the sub-continent shores.

The 25-year old, who even outscored Steven Smith in the summer, conceded that it is going to be an uphill task facing India at their home. The right-hander, who is just 14 Tests old, and averaging 60 plus, believes that as a good player, one needs to get himself tested against the best opposition in some of the most challenging conditions.

“Whenever you play India, it’s a tough series because they’re a very tough opposition. They’ve got great batters and bowlers, so it’s going to be a challenge. But as a player, you always want to test yourself against the best opposition in the toughest conditions, and there’s nothing tougher than India in India.” Labuschagne said quoted by Times Now.

Marnus Labuschagne has a wealth of experience among his touring party to lean on:

The number four batsman in Test rankings further said that he has players who have a wealth of experience of playing in India in all the formats and that continuing to gather the learnings from them is going to work wonders for him. Labuschagne was also part of the Australia A side that toured India in 2018.

If I get an opportunity that’d be great. Luckily I have a wealth of experience there with Aaron Finch, David Warner, Steve Smith to continue to learn from those guys is great. I’ve got a lot of experience to lean on with guys who have played five, six, seven years of IPL and Test tours over there for Australia, so there’s a lot to learn.” he added further.

Australia, who scored a series victory the previous time in India, play their first game in Mumbai on January 14th. The subsequent two games will take place in Rajkot on January 17th and in Bangalore on January 19th.

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