Australia’s Test series in Bangladesh has begun. However, the team from Down Under dropped a huge bombshell by axing Steve O’Keefe from the series-opener.
The left-arm spinner was the bowler who fired Australia to their first Test win in India for 13 years. O’Keefe picked up six for 35 in each innings of the Pune Tests, as Australia thrashed the formidable Indian in their den by a whopping margin of 333 runs. O’Keefe had gone on to finish the series as Australia’s leading wicket-taker but still found himself out of the playing eleven for the series-opener against Bangladesh in Dhaka.
Australia has replaced O’Keefe with young spinner Ashton Agar for a reason which might surprise many but then again captain Steve Smith has set his sight on achieving something which very Australian captain have attained in the past. Explaining the reason for preferring Agar over O’Keefe, Smith on Saturday (August 26), made it clear his ultimate aim is to win a Test series in India and such is his desperation that he has started making plans for it from now on although the series is four years away.
“He’s come a long way,” Smith said of Agar’s inclusion. “For us, it’s more looking to the future. Ashton has obviously been on the radar for a long time and someone we see as having a pretty bright future. Four years’ time back in India it’s something I want to achieve while I’m captain. I want to win in India, that’s big on my bucket list.”
Before this year’s Border-Gavaskar series had begun, nobody had given Steve Smith’s men any chance of putting up a good fight against the world number side let alone winning any match. However, the team from Down Under exceeded all the expectations and gave their fancied opponents a run for their money before losing the final game as well as the series.
The visitors began the series with a bang by inflicting a heavy 333-run on Virat Kohli’s men. In the following Test at Bengaluru, they had India on the mat. However, the hosts staged a remarkable comeback to win the match by 75 runs. In the third Test at Ranchi, Australia once again showed they would not give up easily, as Peter Handscomb and Glenn Maxwell batted out of their skin on a fifth-day pitch to salvage a draw.
The visitors failed to sustain the momentum in the series-decider but their brilliant performance has shown that the Steve Smith-led side can end Australia’s long wait for a series win in India and the captain has already started preparing for it.
Smith had let the team from the front and was undoubtedly the stand-out batsman from either side, as he scored 499 runs at a stunning average of over 71 including three centuries.
Speaking about the experience he gained in India on his first visit to the country as a captain, Smith said:
“Something I learned a lot about in India as a captain, in particular, was knowing the different tempos of the game and when to attack a little bit more. It’s been a good learning experience for me. I think the key to winning overseas is to ensure that you’re adapting consistently and putting those performances on the board consistently.”