IND vs AUS 2023: As the time is inching closer to the beginning of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the teams are doing their final preparations ahead of the high-voltage tournament. The Australian side practised on a spin-friendly Sydney pitch before training on turning surfaces in Bangalore. Meanwhile, former Indian Cricketer and expert Murali Kartik has stated that ranked turning tracks can backfire for the Indian team.
Speaking to PTI, the former spinner said, "Playing spinners on flat deck isn't the problem. We must admit that our batters have struggled against quality spin bowling on tracks that have offered turn. I don't know what kind of tracks will be in the offing but rank turners could backfire."
Kartik also stated that he has bowled against spin bowling masters in domestic cricket. "When I was in my teens and playing competitive league cricket in Chennai, as a 15-16 year old, I was bowling to Vikram Rathour, S Sharath, Senthilnathan, some of the finest domestic batters of those times. Then I graduated to first-class cricket and I was bowling to Ajay Sharma and the late Raman Lamba, two doyens of the Ranji Trophy. By the time, I played international cricket, it gave me a lot of confidence," he added.
Kuldeep vs Axar; Kartik picks his player
Meanwhile, Murali Kartik has also picked who should play between Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel. "If it is a flatter deck, then Kuldeep could be a good choice as he has the skills to take the pitch out of the equation. If it starts turning from the second day onwards, Axar could come in.
But if you ask me, invariably the third spinner will be under-bowled as you expect your two main guys to do the job," he said.
Meanwhile, former selector Jatin Paranjape picked his choice for the third spinner. "For me, there is no debate that Axar Patel should be India's third spinner with (Ravichandran) Ashwin and (Ravindra) Jadeja. The form in which he has been and on wickets that will be on offer, Axar is a straightforward choice," he said.
