Former all-rounder Shane Watson expressed confidence in the Indian pace attack’s ability to excel against Australia on their home turf. He emphasized that for the bowlers to thrive during what promises to be a challenging tour, effective rotation will be crucial. Watson believes that with the right strategy in place, India’s pace bowlers can make a significant impact, turning the series in their favor despite the tough conditions and formidable opposition they will face throughout the tour.
Shane Watson Talked About India’s Pace Attack:
India’s past series victories during their two previous tours of Australia have heightened the excitement for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy, featuring five Tests beginning on November 22 in Perth. Ahead of this anticipated clash, Shane Watson shared insights with the media at the launch of the International Masters League, focusing on the strengths of the Indian bowling attack and its potential impact in the series.
He said, “ India’s pace attack will be where they predominantly win that series. They’ve got the firepower to be able to do it, but to be able to do it five Test matches in a row in Australia, they’ll have to rotate them as well. There’s no question, even though (Ravichandran) Ashwin obviously is a ridiculously skilled bowler in all conditions, same with (Ravindra) Jadeja, but the assistance won’t be there as consistent as it is in other parts of the world. They’ll still be effective, but how effective they’ll be, that’ll be the test and that’ll be the challenge for the Aussie batters.”
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Watson Thinks Pujara’s Absence Won’t Affect India:
While Cheteshwar Pujara’s solid batting played a crucial role in India’s victories during the 2018-19 and 2020-21 tours, Shane Watson believes that his absence won’t significantly affect the team’s performance against Australia in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
He further said, “ When you talk about Pujara is (that) he just doesn’t make a mistake. Whereas you’ve seen so many of these incredible batters for India, top-order batters like (Yashasvi) Jaiswal, he has scored runs very quickly, but he hasn’t made a mistake.”
He added, “ He hasn’t really given the opposition a chance to be able to get him out. If those type of batters do come out to Australia and play aggressively, put the bad balls away and put the pressure on the Aussie bowlers, then they can still have the same effect and they keep the game moving as well. With the calibre of batters that India have got and the skill they’ve got, there’s no reason why they can’t combine that, putting pressure on the bowlers, score quickly but also not make mistakes
He emphasized that for Australia to secure a victory over India, they must perform at their absolute peak. He concluded, “ India have certainly got the team that has got the firepower, give Australia a huge challenge at home. The last time that they met in Australia, India played very, very well. They will have their confidence from that last tour. But just knowing the firepower that India do have with the bat and the ball and how they continue to come together, Australia are going to have to be at their very, very best to be able to win that series.”
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