"Can surely make things difficult for Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill" - Salman Butt on Mitchell Starc ahead of WTC final
Former Pakistan skipper Salman Butt feels Australia's left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc could trouble Indian opener Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill in the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) final.
He pointed out that Rohit has struggled at times against left-arm fast bowlers. Butt also opined that the Australian bowlers will find it difficult if the two Indian openers are able to see off the new ball and get set.
"If he (Mitchell Starc) gets it right, he can surely make things difficult for Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. He has a very good inswinger and bowls at a good pace. We have seen that Rohit Sharma is vulnerable against left-armers. However, if those two get set, they can put Australian bowlers under pressure," Butt said on his YouTube channel.
Butt reckons that India have a stronger batting lineup as compared to Australia. He went on to suggest that the conditions at The Oval will benefit the batters as the pace and bounce will allow them to play their shots freely.
"India have a stronger batting lineup out of the two teams. Also, the conditions that you would get at The Oval, won't be the typical English conditions. It isn't similar to Lords or Leeds where the ball tends to swing a lot for the first couple of hours. The Oval offers pace and bounce which makes shot-making easier," he elaborated.
The WTC 2023 final between India and Australia is set to being at The Oval on Wednesday, June 7. While it will be Australia's maiden WTC final appearance, Team India reached the summit clash of the inaugural edition as well in 2021, suffering an eight-wicket loss to New Zealand.
"Some of the best batters have also gone through this" - Salman Butt on Rohit Sharma's lean patch
Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma didn't have a wonderful Indian Premier League (IPL) season with the bat, mustering 332 runs across 16 games at an average of 20.75.
Salman Butt reckons that the ace batter's form isn't very concerning, as most players tend to go through bad phases. He claimed that the reason behind Rohit's recent failures could be his counter-attacking approach in T20s.
"I think it is because he (Rohit Sharma) plays with a lot of freedom in T20s. He maybe gets stuck in a certain sort of environment due to a cluttered mindset. He is a very big player but still gets stuck at times. However, it can happen to any player and some of the best batters have also gone through this," Butt said.
Speaking about Team India's bowling attack, Butt mentioned that they have two exceptional spin-bowling options in Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin.
"Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin are proven spinners. They know how to contain and how to take wickets and have been doing it for a long period of time. I think they are better than all Indian spinners at the moment," he added.
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Notably, Ashwin and Jadeja have been key architects in India's Test victories over the past few years.
Ashwin is the leading wicket-taker for the side in the WTC 2021-23 cycle, bagging 61 scalps in 13 Tests. Jadeja, on the other hand, has 43 wickets to his name from 12 matches.