3 Australian batters who could be Ravichandran Ashwin's bunny in Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023
With the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023 set to begin soon, Ravichandran Ashwin is among the players in focus. He has been very successful at home against Australia since the 2013 series.
The first Test starts on Thursday, February 9, at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur. The mind games and war of words have already started as pundits and critics from all over the world are voicing their opinions and analysis ahead of this series.
News of Australia finding a net bowler who closely replicates Ravichandran Ashwin's bowling style shows how big a threat he poses.
IND VS AUS Test Training Session; Ravichandran Ashwin Duplicate Bowling Action https://t.co/d2hGVKmiHe
The ace spinner for India has had the better of many of the Aussie batters in previous contests. On that note, let's look at three players who could become his bunny in the Border Gavaskar Trophy this time around.
#1 Usman Khawaja
It's a very short sample space to base your observations on, but Usman Khawaja did struggle against Ravichandran Ashwin in the games he played against him in 2018. He has been dismissed twice by Ashwin while managing to score only 10 runs off his bowling.
Khawaja's game against spin is pretty strong, and he was one of Australia's most sound batters when they played in Asia last year. However, he is yet to play a Test match in India, so the jury's out on how he'll play in these conditions.
However, being a left-hander on Indian surfaces facing Ashwin, you'd think it's only a matter of time before the Indian off-spinner got the better of Khawaja.
#2 Travis Head
One of Australia's best players last year, Travis Head's form in Test and ODI cricket has been encouraging for his team. This will be Head's first Test series in India. While his stats in Australia are excellent, he hasn't fared well in the subcontinent, aggregating less than 100 runs in five matches in Pakistan and Sri Lanka last year.
The real Test is yet to come for the Aussies 😈🔥
#Cricket #CricketTwitter #INDvsNZ #INDvSL #INDvsAUS https://t.co/4K4ydc1dMR
The southpaw has faced Ravichandran Ashwin in the past in Australia, getting out once while scoring 31 runs against him. Suffice it to say, it'll be a whole new ball game when the two sides meet on Indian tracks.
It will be a huge test for Travis Head when taking on India's spinners, and his style of play and output will be a major determinant of Australia's success. However, Ashwin's dominance against left-handers, especially at home, and Head's lack of success outside Australia bodes ill for the Aussie batsman.
#3 David Warner
David Warner has faced Ravichandran Ashwin plenty of times, starting in 2012, and he doesn't enjoy facing the off-spinner. Ashwin has got the better of Warner on 10 occasions, with the stocky southpaw being able to score only 182 runs, averaging a sub-par 18.2.
Warner isn't in the best of form heading into this series and has been very streaky, currently in a lean patch across formats.
He doesn't have the best of records in India, with only three half-centuries in eight games, averaging 24.25. One might say he is already one of Ashwin's frequent victims and that count could well rise by the end of the series.