India in India will be a big challenge, says Glenn McGrath

Glenn McGrath said that Australia will be a tougher opponent for India than West Indies 

The former Australian Cricketer and a commentator for Channel Nine’s cricket coverage, Glenn McGrath, was in Chennai for another stint at the MRF Pace Foundation. While giving training to youngsters, McGrath shared his thoughts on the ongoing Olympics which is presently taking place in Rio.

The former cricketer also spoke about the upcoming India-Australia four-match test series in India.

The Australian cricket legend McGrath believes cricket should also be a part of the Olympic Games. McGrath said that when Rugby Sevens is a part of the Games, he wonders cricket is still excluded. The legendary bowler said “Now you have Rugby Sevens in the Olympics, there is no reason why cricket should not be there. Perhaps you can have Twenty20 cricket. I liked it when cricket was played in the Commonwealth Games.”

As quoted from The Hindu, the former Aussie player talked about the performance of Australia’s batting in the team’s tour Test series in Sri Lanka. McGrath mentioned about the challenges faced by the Aussies in the Indian subcontinent.

The legendary bowler spoke about the concerns that the batsmen faces while batting a spinning ball in the sub-continent where the pitches and weather conditions are quite different from back home in Australia.

Playing spin bowling

“Playing spin in the sub-continent has been one of our concerns over the last few years. It’s not that we can’t play spin. It’s about our mindset going out there to play it. We have to be clear in our minds about our game-plan. Like when Mathew Hayden was here in 2001, him deciding to use the sweep effectively,” said Glenn McGrath.

The legendary Aussie bowler was concerned about Australia’s overall performance but was impressed with Mitchell Starc’s bowling in Sri Lankan pitches.

McGrath praised Starc and said that Starc is an attacking pace bowler who makes proper use of the pitch which helps in perfect swing. While talking about Starc, McGrath said, “He is an attacking paceman. He pitches it up and gets the new ball to swing. When the ball gets older, he reverses it. And he’s got speed.”

McGrath believes that while playing with the pink ball, the pitches for day and night first-class matches must be a little grassy. He even said that the shape of the ball might deteriorate quickly without a bit of grass of the pitch.

Playing India in India

When he was asked about Australia’s preparation to face India in the Indian pitches, McGrath spoke about why spin bowling is tough to play. He mentioned that the Aussies may face a tough challenge during the four-match Test series in India which is supposed to take place in the early months of the next year. The legend said, “India in India will be a big challenge. We will get wickets that will turn square.”

McGrath said that the Indian team has more ability than just winning against the current West Indies team. He further added “India will face tougher opponents. But the combination of Kohli’s youthful exuberance and aggression and Kumble’s experience and the respect he has earned is promising for India.”