India players not playing are way more talented than me: Marcus Stoinis

Marcus Stoinis, the Australia all-rounder, has recently said that the Indian players, who are not part of the current international setup, are way more talented than him. The 30-year-old stated the same in the recently-released documentary ‘The Test’ in the episode that showed how India won the 2018-19 ODI series in Australia 2-1 after levelling the T20I series 1-1.

It was the same tour when India, captained by Virat Kohli, won their maiden Test series on Australian soil. Barring the defeat in Perth, the visitors didn’t put a foot wrong. Stoinis admitted that India is by far the most talented.

“India is the most talented team in the world. Hands down. The players not playing are way more talented than me,” Stoinis was quoted as saying in the documentary on Amazon Prime, reported by India Today.

I love playing in India: Marcus Stoinis

A month later, the Aussies toured India for a five-match ODI series and Stoinis was left awestruck by the love and passion for the sport in the visiting country. He said that the energy in India motivates one to take the field.

“I love playing in India. I love the culture – its unmatched energy. It heightens all your senses. If you can harness all that excitement, that energy there is no way you can rock up there and not be motivated to play,” he added.

In the same series, Stoinis had a reasonable time as the all-rounder. In four matches, he churned out 140 runs at an average of 46.66 with a top score of 52. With the ball, he could only manage a couple of wickets at an economy of 6.59.

It was a memorable series for the Aussies as it was their maiden series victory after the 2018 ball-tampering scandal at the Newlands in Cape Town. The start wasn’t great as India took a 2-0 lead in the series with victories in Hyderabad and Nagpur respectively.

Aaron Finch’s form was also a major cause of concern. However, both Australia and their skipper struck form at the JSCA Stadium in Ranchi. From there, the visitors didn’t look back and went on to win the next three games to clinch the series 3-2.