India vs Australia: The performance of batsmen like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara against spin has been average. This is the reason why former Indian cricketers are not even able to trust him.
Image Credit source: AFP
How will the pitch be in the Test series starting from February 9 between India and Australia is a big question. There are reports that the Indian team has demanded the pitch curators to make such a pitch that the game lasts for five days. By the way, former selectors and experts feel that if the wicket becomes spin friendly during the series, then the current Indian batting line-up will be upset. to these former players RohitThere is no trust in batsmen like Virat and Pujara. Former left arm spinner and commentator Murali Karthik said that if the pitch is made spin friendly then only Indian batsmen can get trapped.
There was a time when Indians were considered to be masters of playing spin, but in recent times the team plays comfortably against fast bowling while struggling against slow bowling. If anyone’s best innings on a bouncy pitch in the last two-three years has to be seen, it has to be current skipper Rohit Sharma’s technically perfect 161 on a poor Chepauk pitch when the other top-order batsmen struggled . An attack like Mehidy Hasan Miraj, Shakib Al Hasan and Taijul Islam had spoiled India’s condition in the second Test in Mirpur last year but later Ravichandran Ashwin and Shreyas Iyer brought them back.
Lest Indian batsmen get trapped in the trap!
Former Test spinner and commentator Murali Karthik said in a conversation with PTI, ‘Playing spinners on a flat pitch is not a problem. We have to accept that our batsmen struggle while playing spin bowling on bouncy pitches. I don’t know what kind of pitch will be given but a bouncy pitch can backfire. Karthik, one of the best left-arm spinners of his generation, said that even at the domestic level, there are not many players who can play spinners well.
Virat-Pujara’s poor record against spinners
Murali Karthik’s fear is also right as in the last one year, the performance of two of India’s biggest batsmen Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli against spinners has been average. From the year 2021, Virat Kohli was dismissed against spinners 11 times in 15 innings on Asian soil. Pujara has also given wickets to spinners 10 times out of 14 innings played in Asia since 2021. Pujara was dismissed by the left-arm spinner 8 times, while Virat Kohli became his victim 6 times. Australia has a good left arm spinner in the form of Ashton Agar. If the pitch favors the spinners, then the Kangaroo team will definitely hit the ground with two spinners.
