Former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson is surprised with the scheduling tweak of the upcoming Test series against India at home, saying it is strange that the home summer kick starts in Adelaide instead of Brisbane, where the Australian summer usually begins.
He is disappointed that the first Test of the four-match Test Series Down Under has been moved from the “Gabba”, saying it would be certainly a disadvantage for the home side, as Adelaide doesn't have much swing and could be much more of a contest, while Brisbane conditions favor the quick bowlers.
The 37-year-old told CricketNext on Tuesday (December 4), “From my perspective, it's hard to imagine that the first Test of the series is not at Gabba. I grew up in Brisbane, so I used to go to the first day of the Test all the time. It's strange that the first Test is not in Brisbane because Gabba's pace, bounce, and swing against the away team is always an advantage. Adelaide is a bit more placid, there's not much swing and could be much more of a contest.”
Watson further went on to claim that Australia is still unbeatable at home and it is going to be hard for Virat Kohli and his troops to beat them at home even without their batting powerhouses –Steve Smith and David Warner in the upcoming exciting Down Under.
The Aussie further added on the same, “Playing Australia in Australia is very tough but having said that this is India's best chance to win, especially because (Steve) Smith and (David) Warner are missing. But India is going to find it really hard to win even with their incredible batting line-up and fast bowling resources being probably the best that they have had in a while coming to Australia. Still, with the wickets the way they are — the pace and bounce, we are accustomed to playing here as well, so that doesn't make things easy for the Indians.”
Commenting on Indian line-up, the all-rounder noted, “I have seen the other batsmen a lot, played against them in IPL. KL Rahul for one has some good memories of Australia, after his century on the last tour. Rishabh Pant is incredibly talented, it'll be interesting to see how he goes because I have not seen him bat outside India. Their batting is strong even with Virat out of the equation.”
Watson signed off by saying, “India's fast bowling resources are equally strong as well. (Jasprit) Bumrah has good speed and is a little bit different with his angle. He is not your typical outswing bowler, provides bit more all-roundness to the bowling.”
(With CricketNext Inputs)
