- Shamser Khalid
Marnus Labuschagne's Tweet Amuses Players & Fans
Preparations are underway for Team India to face Australia in the upcoming four-match Test series on February 9 at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Jamtha. In the middle of preparations, Australian batter Marnus Labuschagne shared a photo that showed home packing coffee bags for the upcoming tour in India.
Taking to Twitter, he posted the photo of the coffee packets and captioned it, "Just a few KG of coffee on its way to Guess how many bags?"
There were plenty of responses to the post, and one of the commenters was veteran cricketer Dinesh Karthik. The Indian wicketkeeper-batter had dropped a witty remark that read, "You get great coffee in India too mate". The comment quickly went viral and has since gained thousands of likes.
In response to the comments, plenty of fans gave their share of witty remarks. One fan responded to the comment with, "DK, Few people can't afford great things!" Another fan responded with "That was a promotional tweet dk!"
Marnus Labuschagne’s love for coffee is well known. Former Australian coach Darren Lehmann once remarked that the batter must have 15 to 20 coffees per day.
According to one interview, Labuschagne has appointed himself the 'head barista' of the Australian cricket team and says he loves the process and art of making coffee as much as drinking it. Labuschagne even launched a personal coffee brand called The Run Club in 2022.
When interviewed about his love for coffee, the player stated, “My interest in coffee started when I received a coffee machine for my 21st birthday. Since then, I've gone down the coffee rabbit hole, especially in these past few years.”
Earlier this month, Labuschagne expressed his excitement for the Test tour of India after making the required changes in his game to combat ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
In the last game, Labuschagne and Ashwin played against each other, Labuschagne was dismissed twice by Ashwin. The Australia batter, however, became the leading run-scorer in the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia with 426 runs at an average of 53.25.
Following their 2-0 victory over South Africa, the Pat Cummins-led side is brimming with confidence for their upcoming Test series. The team will play four Tests in Nagpur (February 9-13), New Delhi (February 17-21), Dharamsala (March 1-5), and Ahmedabad (March 9-13).
The last time Australia won a Test series in India was in 2004. Compared to the previous Test series, the tour in India will determine which team will prevail and take home the prized Border-Gavaskar trophy and significant ICC World Test Championship points. The Test series will also determine the top two spots in the World Test Championship. The top teams will earn a playoff position for the one-off championship game at The Oval in June.
For this Test series, wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant will not be available due to sustaining injuries from a car crash in December 2022. On the other hand, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will join the squad after a long injury spell on the sidelines, while pacer Jasprit Bumrah is said to be available for the third and fourth Test of the series.
