Just a few weeks remain before the eagerly anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and the Australians have already begun formulating strategies to overcome the difficulty of playing in the subcontinent. Adam Gilchrist, a former Australian wicketkeeper-batsman, has counselled Pat Cummins and company to be more cautious rather than overly aggressive.
With crucial World T20 points on the line, Australia will travel to the subcontinent to play India in a pivotal Test series. They will be apprehensive of the task of playing in Indian conditions even though they are practically certain to qualify for the WTC final. In an effort to improve their bowling options, the Australian selection committee has chosen four specialist spinners for the upcoming tour.
“What we tried to change with our mentality back then – and I’d be interested to see if the Australians do it this time – is don’t go searching and just rolling spinners out there. Attack the stumps right from ball one. Swallow your pride a bit, be defensive to be aggressive… Start with one slip, start with a catching mid-wicket, put fielders out on the boundary to nullify the boundary option, but keep a couple of catchers in place – either at short cover or short mid-wicket – and just be patient,” Gilchrist was quoted as saying by Fox Sports.
The legendary Australian bowler advised Pat Cummins to stick with his reliable bowlers rather than relying too heavily on newcomers. According to Gilchrist, teams frequently try to introduce new players as mystery bowlers, but this strategy frequently backfires because it is exceedingly challenging to adjust to the Indian conditions.
“So often teams go to India hoping to unveil some new spinner that’s going to come in and adapt and bedazzle in India — it doesn’t really happen. Pick your best four bowlers, run with them — and if that is three seamers who can all get really nice reverse swing and Nathan Lyon, who’s outstanding and clearly the best off-spinner we’ve ever had, can play his role — that’s my gut feeling. You do that, you go with it,” he added.