"Mitchell Swepson is a basic leg spinner who will not trouble the Indian batters" - Ramiz Raja on Australian bowler
Former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja believes that Australian leg spinner Mitchell Swepson will not be able to trouble the Indian batters during the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Raja suggested that Swepson is just a 'basic' leg spinner. The 60-year-old also pointed out that Australian spinners are unlikely to get any help from Indian pitches in the first two or three days of a Test match.
Raja stated:
"Mitchell Swepson is a basic leg spinner who will not trouble the Indian batters. But having a leg spinner in the side adds an attacking option. However, the Australian spinners won't play a major role in the first few days, unless India prepare a square turner."
"Nathan Lyon gets help from the surface on the fourth or fifth day in the subcontinent. But there is a threat perception with him, as he has some great performances to his name."
For Australia, Nathan Lyon will be their best bet on the spin-friendly Indian tracks. However, he will need some support from the other end in order to create more pressure. Apart from Lyon, the visitors have named three frontline spinners in their squad for the series.
Swepson has featured in just four Tests so far in his career, picking up 10 wickets from the same. Left-arm spinner Ashton Agar also lacks experience, having played just five Test matches. They also have an uncapped off-spinner in Todd Murphy.
"He is a selfless cricketer and a great captain" - Ramiz Raja on Australia's skipper Pat Cummins
In the same video, Ramiz Raja reserved high praise for Australian captain Pat Cummins and backed him to do well with the ball in the Border-Gavaskar series.
The cricketer-turned-commentator mentioned that the veteran pacer will play a major role, given his ability to extract reverse swing. Raja also opined that left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc, too, will be very effective with the ball.
On this, he said:
"The Australian team assesses the conditions very quickly and comes up with a very strong strategy. They are an attacking side and have two to three great bowling options.
"Pat Cummins is an expert in reverse swing and also has good pace. He can bowl long spells and is capable of bowling wicket-to-wicket on low-bouncy tracks. He is a selfless cricketer and a great captain.
"Mitchell Starc has great pace and has the advantage of the left-arm angle. He too can reverse the ball, and there will be some reverse swing in India."
One sleep to go.
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It is worth mentioning that Starc has been ruled out of the Test series opener because of an injury. Along with Starc, Josh Hazlewood, too, will be unavailable for selection for the first Test owing to his Achilles injury.
The first Test of the four-match series will be played at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur from Thursday, February 9.