North melbourne

The West Australian: 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.