Former all-rounder Shane Watson on Tuesday backed the Indian pace attack to dominate Australia on their own soil provided the visiting bowlers are rotated well during this tough tour. India’s series wins in each of their last two tours of Australia have added spice to the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which will consist of five Tests starting in Perth from November 22. “India’s pace attack will be where they primarily win that series. They have the firepower to be able to do that, but to be able to do that in five consecutive Test matches in Australia, they have to rotate them because Okay,” Watson told the media during the launch of the International Masters League.
“There’s no question, even though (Ravichandran) Ashwin is obviously a ridiculously efficient bowler in all conditions, even with (Ravindra) Jadeja, the support won’t be as consistent as it is in other parts of the world.
“They will still be effective, but how effective they will be will be a test and a challenge for the Australian batsmen,” he said.
India’s wins in 2018-19 and 2020-21 were largely achieved due to strong resistance from Cheteshwar Pujara with the bat, but Watson does not think his absence will have any impact on the visitors.
“When you talk about Pujara it seems like he doesn’t make any mistakes. While you have seen a lot of incredible batsmen for India, top-order batsmen like (Yashaswi) Jaiswal, he has scored very quickly ” But he has not done anything wrong,” he said.
He said, “They have not really given the opposition a chance to get them out. If batsmen like this come to Australia and play aggressively, keep the bad balls away and put pressure on the Australian bowlers, then They can do that.” “He still has the same impact and keeps the game moving.”
“With the caliber of batsmen that India have and the skills that they have, there is no reason why they can’t combine it, put pressure on the bowlers, score runs quickly but also not make mistakes,” he said. Can.”
Watson said that Australia will have to give its best performance to defeat India.
He said, “India definitely have a team which has the firepower, which can give a big challenge to Australia at home. The last time they met in Australia, India played very well. This will give them confidence.” ,
“But knowing how much firepower India has with bat and ball and how they continue to come together, Australia will have to be at their best to be able to win that series,” he said.
Smith should remain an opening batsman
Watson favored a return to the opening role for senior batsman Steve Smith, who had missed the last few Test matches.
“Steve Smith has made the call to be able to go and open, and I think he should stay there. Cameron Green came in and batted at No. 4 and did a fantastic job. The century he scored in New Zealand was very He was special. As the future moves forward, he is now a perfect candidate for number four.
“Steve Smith, the reason he hasn’t performed so well in the last few Test matches is because he was a bit poor in his technique. Just seeing him get out in certain ways was a bit wrong, which I’ve never really seen him do before. Didn’t see it coming out.” Watson expects Australia’s “tough” bowlers to be able to handle the workload of playing five Tests and backed Steve Smith to continue as the opening batsman.
“One thing he has shown throughout his career, especially in the last four or five years, is how incredibly flexible he is. Once bowlers like (Mitchell) Starc, (Josh) Hazlewood and (Pat) Cummins “Once they get up and going, they’re very resilient,” he said.
“He is a very strong-bodied and Test-match fit bowler, which is every fast bowler’s dream. There is no question that he will be managed whenever we go through a five-Test series, but it will be a challenge to India also has it,” he said.
‘India is greatest in its circumstances’
England’s 2019 World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan supported India’s aggressive approach in Test cricket, citing the famous victory in Kanpur and said that by doing so, many questions will be asked of Australia.
“If they go to Australia and play the same way, a big part of that series will hinge on the fitness of Nathan Lyon and how they (them) play. If they adopt that mentality in playing Nathan Lyon in the same way It asks a lot of questions of Australia,” he said.
Morgan said that the current Indian team is “one of the greatest teams in its conditions”.
He added, “He has to be considered one of the greatest in his circumstances. What makes him so good is his hunger and desire to win. His attitude towards it is never taken for granted.”
“We come from countries where the home team has a huge advantage. But still our record across generations is not as good as the Indians,” he said.
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