Former India allrounder Irfan Pathan has named the Indian bowler who could play a vital role in stopping Steve Smith in the upcoming four-match test series. The Border-Gavaskar series will get underway next week (February 9) in Nagpur.
India will be looking to continue their recent domination over Australia in Test series. India have won the previous three editions of the series including two in Australia. They have also not lost a Test series against Australia at home since 2004/05 season.
But one man who has the potential to spoil India’s party is Steve Smith. The former Australia skipper enjoys a stunning record against India in Tests. The last time Australia toured India for Tests, he was the highest run-scorer. Smith had finished the four-match series in 2017 with 499 runs that included three tons.
Smith has also arrived in India after a fine season at home. He scored a double century in Tests against West Indies before scoring a fifty and a century against South Africa. It was followed by two stunning back-to-back centuries and a fifty in the Big Bash League.
Irfan Pathan tells Rohit Sharma how to stop Steve Smith:
With Smith in such a good form, India would be hoping that he does not replicate the form that he showed in 2017. And while only time will tell how the Smith vs India battle pans out, Irfan Pathan believes Axar Patel could be the man who could stop the former Australia skipper.
“No doubt about that. He is definitely an Australian legend. If you look at Australian history as well, he is up there. He has troubled the Indian bowlers a lot, scored tons of runs. Even though you know that he has got a really solid bottom hand, but still he finds ways to score runs in front of the wickets, on the off and leg side. We need to have a proper plan,” said Irfan Pathan while speaking on Star Sports.
“The challenge of Steve Smith will be there for Indian cricket but I think one guy, which I have a great feeling, who can actually have the numbers against him is Axar Patel. If he plays regularly all the matches, the kind of trajectory he has, he can be a big threat to him,” Irfan Pathan added.
Speaking further, Irfan Pathan explained the reason behind backing Axar Patel ahead of the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja to excel against Smith. The former cricketer-turned-commentator stated that Axar continuously bowls at the stumps and can trouble Smith because of his batting style.
“The line and length he bowls, the straight ball he bowls, he can bring the lbw or bowled into play against Steve Smith, especially because he uses his bottom hand a lot. A bowler who continuously bowls at the stumps can prove to be an alarm bell against such a player, that is Axar Patel,” said Pathan.
Also Read: IND vs AUS 2023: It Is A Massive Series For Rohit Sharma: Sanjay Bangar