Steve Smith challenged the Indian bowlers to bowl bouncers to him last week in the upcoming Test series. Meanwhile, former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar has said that no batsman is ever ready to play bouncers and that Smith will have his share of problems against the Indian pacers. India play a four-Test match series against the Aussies from December 17, after the limited-overs leg and Smith will be back to lead the opposition batting order.
Steve Smith has had his share of problems against Jofra Archer in the last Ashes series and Gavaskar believes that he will face problems from the Indian bowlers as well.
“No one is ever ready for the short ball! A good short ball will trouble the best of batsmen. Nobody can say ‘I’m ready’,” Gavaskar told Sportstar.
Steve Smith Will be Troubled By Bouncers From Indian Bowlers: Gavaskar
The former Indian skipper further said that Mohammed Shami has a particularly good bouncer and it is pretty tough to negotiate if bowled on target.
“Mohammed Shami in particular has a fabulous bouncer. If he gets it right on target, then you can be pretty certain that not too any batsmen will be able to negotiate him. He is not very tall and his short ball will come skidding at you around your shoulder and head, and that’s the most difficult delivery to play. If his rhythm is right, he will not be an easy bowler to play,” Gavaskar said.
Smith was not available for Australia, the last time India toured down under. Virat Kohli and his men won the Test series 2-1 and became the first Indian team to do so.
This time, however, Kohli is available for just the first test and will return home due to the birth of his child. Meanwhile, Australia will have both Steve Smith and David Warner available for selection.
Several former cricketers including Ricky Ponting and Allan Border believe that Aussies have an upper hand in the series with Kohli missing from the last three Tests.
