The Roar | Aussie blog feels it will be foolish of Australia to rely on spin in India
Theroar.com.au's writer Ronan O'Connell has questioned the Australian selector's decision to rely heavily on spin for the upcoming tour of India. O'Connell feels it is Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, and not the slow bowlers, who will form Australia’s best attacking options in the series.
All this suggests we are likely, at some point during the series in India, to see Australia play three frontline spinners, with one of Hazlewood or Starc forced to watch on from the sidelines. The question now is how soon such a line-up will appear?
Are the selectors considering it as an experiment in the latter part of the tour once any chance of an Australian series win has disappeared? Or do they see this spin-heavy line-up as Australia’s best chance of victory on a turning track? If the latter is true then it all depends on the condition of the surface for the first Test at Pune next month.
Now, there is no doubt that Australia’s spinners will play a major role in India. But, as I wrote recently, it is Starc and Hazlewood, not the slow bowlers, who shape as Australia’s best attacking options in that series.