Waqar Younis says Smith & Warner's absence made India's 2018 Aus Test series win easier

Waqar Younis has come forward and said that India's 2018 Test series win in Australia had a lot to do with the absence of Steve Smith and David Warner's absence. The duo was suspended for 12 months due to their involvement in the infamous ball-tampering scandal in March 2018 in South Africa which had shocked the cricket world. Smith and Warner were also stripped from captaincy and vice-captaincy posts.

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'They played well but...': Waqar Younis

"I am not trying to take away any credit from India, they played well and they are a very good side. But yes at same time when they won in Australia, there is no doubt that Australian cricket was going through a turmoil and there were problems in their dressing room. And they were without Steve Smith and David Warner," Waqar said during a video conference.

India beat Australia in an edge of the seat thriller in the first Test at the Adelaide Oval but, the Aussies went on to register an emphatic 146-run win to level the four-match series. However, it was Virat Kohli and India who had the last laugh as they registered a 2-1 series win. By the virtue of this win, the Indian team ended up winning their maiden Test series Down Under. Kohli & Co. would then go on to beat the Aussies in the three-match ODI series that followed and won their first-ever bilateral ODI series on Australian soil. 

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India tour of Australia 2020

India will once again be facing Australia Down Under in a four-match Test series which will get underway after the conclusion of the ICC T20 World Cup in November. It remains to be seen whether Kohli & Co. can repeat the heroics of 2018 when they take on a full-strength Aussie side. 

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 (With PTI Inputs)