Team India coach Ravi Shastri launches a Bradman Museum book titled 'India's 71-Year Test: The Journey to Triumph in Australia’

By K.R. Nayar

A new Bradman Museum book written by R. Kaushik, one of India's most renowned cricket writers, traces the rivalry between India and Australia over the years. This 196-page coffee-table book also narrates great performances by legends and interesting contests between the two nations

Team India coach Ravi Shastri today launched “India's 71-Year Test: The Journey to Triumph in Australia”, a new Bradman Museum book written by R. Kaushik, one of India's most respected cricket writers who has reported more than 100 Tests.

The release of this book comes at a time when the ongoing India-Australia series is poised one-all with the Third Test set to commence from January 11. This book throws light into the history of the intense contest between India and Australia over the years. It reflects on India’s first 12 tours to Australia – from 1947/48, to face Don Bradman’s side - and traces the dominance of the host nation since then until the turn of the millennium.

Launching the book from the Sydney ground, Ravi Shastri said: “The history of India-Australia cricket goes deep. I was fascinated while reading the first four to five chapters of this book....it gave me goosebumps. We had the Lala Amarnaths, and Vinoo Mankads coming here and facing Don Bradman, and then when India played against New South Wales and Vijay Hazare got two hundreds....it goes on and on....it was simply fascinating. This book also has details of great players who have performed extremely well against Australia over the years.”

Appreciating author Kaushik’s effort, Shastri, said:  “It’s a rich history and a fantastic read. Kaushik has done a great job. It’s about the legends who played for the love of the game and set up a fantastic platform."

Incidentally, in the 1985 Benson and Hedges World Championship of Cricket in Australia, Shastri had won the Champion of Champions award through his splendid all-round performances to guide India to victory. “That was the first time day-night cricket was played here and the first time people in India were watching night cricket played with the white ball. So to beat Pakistan in the final here was special. The viewership was massive. It was special for me because I had a great tournament,” said Shastri.

Shastri then unveiled a Bradman Foundation portrait of Sunil Gavaskar during the book launch. Referring to Gavaskar, Shastri said: “He is easily the greatest opening batsman in the world. I am privileged to have got to play under him and watch the master technician. Thirteen 100’s against West Indies is a tribute to the way he played the game. In his prime, he was called the Mumbai Bradman.”

A release from the Bradman Museum on the book said: “India’s vast legion of fans, hitherto forced to settle for occasional competitive displays by its heroes, was finally rewarded for its patience when the team’s investment in pace paid handsome dividends in 2018/19. Virat Kohli’s men won the showdown for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2-1, making them the first team from India to pull off a series win Down Under. Test cricket is under genuine threat from the 20-over format, with more and more players gravitating towards the shorter version. Against this backdrop, the fillip it has received from a rivalry on par with the Ashes is a credit to the commitment to the most demanding format by two of the leaders of the world game.”

In the book, Kaushik argues that “pink-ball day-night Tests and the ICC World Test Championship are necessary steps in the right direction. They can, however, achieve the desired objective only if the sport's leaders reaffirm their commitment to cricket's most demanding and least forgiving prototype. It is therefore incumbent upon Australia, India, and England - the three most influential nations - to show the way. Cricket needs its Test format to not merely survive, but to flourish so that the traditional fabric of the sport remains as its engine room.”

In the 2017 India-Sri Lanka series, Indian skipper Virat Kohli had presented Kaushik, who was reporting his 100th Test match, with Team India T-shirt autographed by all the team members. Kaushik has also co-authored India's legendary batsman VVS Laxman’s autobiography ‘281 and Beyond’.

Indian skipper Virat Kohli presents Team India T-shirt to R. Kaushik 

Shastri, who is the first Indian batsman to make a Test double-century in Australia and had coached the team to victory in Australia in 2018/19, has written the foreword to this book.  In that, he mentions: "There is no such thing as a weak Australian team. Australians hate losing, and it’s a thought process entertained not just by the 11 on the field, but the whole nation, the fans, and the media. When a team tours Australia, there is a combined assault like no other."  Shastri also mentioned that he “rates Australia as easily the best country he has toured, inspiring visitors with a desire to win when faced with the toughest all-round test they will ever encounter.”

Published by Churchill Press, this 196-page coffee-table book has more than 200 classic images from the 12 series', including many historic press photographs rescued from the USA by former Cricket Australia chairman Wally Edwards and donated to the Bradman Museum.