"R Ashwin is already inside Aus head"- Wasim Jaffer reacts to Australian batters training against near carbon-copy of Indian spinner 

Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer recently shared his opinion on Cricket Australia hiring Ravichandran Ashwin's carbon copy as a net bowler ahead of the 2023 Border-Gavaskar trophy series. In Jaffer's view, Ashwin is already in the heads of the Aussies although the first Test is still five days away.

Ravichandran Ashwin troubled Australia a lot during their last two tours to India for Test matches. To ensure that they do not falter against the veteran Indian off-spinner again, the Aussies have hired Mahesh Pithiya, who has a similar bowling style to Ashwin.

Cricket Australia shared a video of their practice sessions on Twitter, where the batters could be seen facing Pithiya's deliveries. Reacting to the video, former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer wrote on Twitter:

"First Test is five days away and @ashwinravi99 is already inside Aus head."

Wasim Jaffer suggested India's top players play Ranji Trophy ahead of Border-Gavaskar trophy series

India recently competed in a total of 12 white-ball matches against Sri Lanka and New Zealand at home. Most of the Indian squad members have not played red-ball cricket this year, which is why Wasim Jaffer suggested that they should compete in Ranji Trophy matches.

During a discussion on ESPNCricinfo a few days ago, Jaffer said:

"I think it (playing Ranji Trophy) will make a lot of sense. If they play maybe one game - two innings in a Ranji game – that will surely help. No matter how experienced you are, you surely need that game time, especially in red ball cricket. You don’t want to be undercooked when you play that first Test."

The Indian players, who played in white-ball games against Sri Lanka and New Zealand, did not compete in Ranji Trophy matches though. It will be interesting to see how they perform in the first Test, starting this Thursday in Nagpur.