After all the endless trials and tribulations in the pay dispute crisis between Australian Cricketers Association and CA, things are headed for a smooth return finally. The Kangaroos now are set to embark on a tour of Bangladesh, comprising of two Test matches. The tour was on cards for a really long time, but security measures delayed the same, leading to animosity between the two parties.
With a Test in the subcontinent in question, Australia are bound to go with two spinners in their playing XI, in order to exploit the helping conditions. However, people were in for a shock when spinner Steven O’ Keefe, Man of the Match in Australia’s first Test win in India in over 12 years, was axed for the tour.
It now emerges that skipper Steven Smith has a valid reason behind the axing of O’ Keefe, who took 12 wickets in the Pune Test which Australia won. Smith feels that for the side’s next tour of India in 2021, he doesn’t’ see O’ Keefe being a part of the side, thus wants to groom younger spinners.
“I thought the first Test in India he bowled particularly well and at times throughout the series, he bowled well without taking the wickets we would have liked,” Smith said. “Now is probably a chance to move on to someone else and Ashton Agar’s going to get his opportunity.”
“Agar has been around for a while now and it’s another chance for him to have a crack in spin-friendly conditions and hopefully he can go really well for us. “I have spoken to O’Keefe and he was disappointed, which is fair enough. He understands where we’re heading. “He’s getting a bit older now and our next tour back to India is in four years’ time and we’ve got to find the right group of guys that are going to be there for that series. “That’s going to be an important one for us so hopefully we can continue to develop a few players in the meantime,” Smith added.