As Mohammed Shami has been ruled out, either of Navdeep Saini And Mohammed Siraj can make his Test debut at the MCG where India and Australia will play the second Test of the four-match Test series. Australia’s batting mainstay Steve Smith has acknowledged that the two Indian pacers are quality bowlers who are likely to have a good Test time ahead.
Mohammed Shami’s bowling arm was fractured by Pat Cummins‘ short-pitched delivery while batting during the second innings of India. With Virat Kohli already missing from the squad, his ouster is a huge set back for the visiting nation. Although Saini and Siraj are talented, they don’t have the experience of bowling to world-class Australians at their home.
Steve Smith stated that India will be in a big loss because they also do not have their veteran pacer Ishant Sharma but admitted that Siraj and Saini have the quality.
“I think they’re two quality bowlers who can have some good Test careers. Obviously, they are missing Ishant (Sharma) as well, which is a big loss for them in terms of experience,” Steve Smith told reporters, as per news agency PTI.
Steve Smith hopes to come out better in the second Test:
Steve Smith was trapped by Ravichandran Ashwin in the first innings of the opening Test match. After facing 29 balls, he was dismissed for a score of a mere one run. He stated that he has learned his lessons from the mistakes.
“The spinners that do well here generally those who get over the top of the ball and beat you with more bounce or in the air as opposed to ones that come around the ball,” Smith said.
“It’s about finding a way to adapt and that’s what the best players do around the world. I’ll hopefully learn something from that, move forward and play a little bit better in the next game,” he further explained.
The two teams will meet again at the Boxing Day Test which begins on Saturday. Australia is currently leading the four-match Test series 1-0.