Australia are presently trailing in the Border Gavaskar Test series against India. The present score-line of the series is 2-1, in favour of India. Skipper Pat Cummins had to head back home after his mother became seriously ill. She passed away, yesterday.
Former Pakistani cricketer Basit Ali however isn’t impressed at all with the approach the Australians have taken in the 3rd Test. The 52-year-old has lashed out at the defensive approach of the cricketers, especially opener Uswan Khawaja who scored 180 runs in 422 deliveries.
Ali has gone to the extent of saying that this is a “plot to remove Cummins from captaincy and re-instate Steve Smith as captain”.
“The way Australia played it felt like the team from 1970-80. They won the toss and scored 255 on Day 1 and 225 on Day 2. It felt like Australia are leading 2-1 in the series but it is India, who are leading 2-1. Just because they have reached the finals of World Test Championship, so they have maintained a defensive approach,” said Basit Ali as quoted by Hindustan Times.
Basit Ali also said that the Head Coach of Australia Andrew McDonald was an ordinary player during his playing days and therefore is an ordinary Coach.
“The mindset with which Steve Smith and their coach Andrew McDonald employed was extremely sad. Their coach was an ordinary player and his thinking too is very ordinary. I also want to make one more point that this is a plot to remove Pat Cummins from the captaincy and reinstate Smith as their new leader. Smith led Australia to a win in the third Test and they now want to play a draw, so Smith can once again be at the helm with his selected group of players,” said Ali.
Usman Khawaja scored his maiden ton against India
Usman Khawaja stood tall in the 1st innings of Australia and mustered a humongous knock of 180 runs in 422 deliveries. But Basit Ali criticized the knock heavily and said that it seemed like Khawaja was a batter from ‘Bangladesh’.
“Usman Khawaja played like a batsman from Bangladesh. His approach was very timid, and I feel it was a selfish innings. You score 180 runs after playing 422 deliveries in this pitch. Only Green looked like a batter from Australia,” said Basit Ali.
Notably, Steve Smith had donned the captain’s hat of Australia after Pat Cummins flew back home. Under his astute captaincy, Australia logged a 9-wicket victory in the 3rd Test match and posted a mammoth total of 480 runs in the 1st innings of the 4th Test match at Ahmedabad.
Also read: IND vs AUS: 3 Reasons Why KS Bharat Might Be Dropped After This Series