Bangladesh vs Australia 2017: 5 key players for the visitors

Australia are once again back in their most unsuccessful territory, the Indian sub-continent, but this time they are facing a relatively easy challenge in the form of Bangladesh. After unsuccessful campaigns against Sri Lanka and India, the pressure is mounting on Steve Smith and Co.

Given the current form of both teams, the Test series against Bangladesh looks anything but a cakewalk for the Aussies. The threat of spin is looming large but the biggest concern for the visitors is to assemble their best playing eleven which will guarantee them a Test win.

Here we talk about the five key players on whom Australia's fate depends on. Performance of these players will determine the result of the series as they all are potential match-winners.

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#5. Matthew Wade

On sub-continent pitches, turn is in abundance and hence the ball misbehaves quite a lot. On such tracks, the role of the wicket-keeper is crucial as he has to deal with sharp edges and stumping chances more often than in foreign conditions.

Matthew Wade's performance as the wicket-keeper of Australia will have a massive impact on the amount of success their spinners will achieve. He will have to support the spinners by converting the half-chances into wickets and by keeping the batsmen stuck in the crease.

Along with the wicketkeeping role, Wade is also an essential cog in Australia's batting-line up. The left-hander plays in the lower-order and has the responsibility of pushing the innings by working with the tail-enders.

In the past, runs from the lower-order have proved decisive in sub-continent Tests and Australia will be hoping that Wade comes good in the series.

#4. Glenn Maxwell

Maxwell is Australia's X factor

In 2012, England arrived in Mumbai after losing the first Test against India and until the second day of the Mumbai Test, looked set for another defeat.

But then Kevin Pietersen happened. The swashbuckling batsman slammed 186 runs off 233 balls to give the visitors a crucial first-innings lead. India crumbled in the second innings and then England never looked back and returned home after pocketing the series 2-1.

In 2015, at Galle, Dinesh Chandimal's counter-attacking knock of 162 from 169 balls resulted in Sri Lanka pulling off an impossible Test win against India while in 2016, Dhananjaya de Silva amassed 129 from 280 balls to help Sri Lanka win a memorable Test against Australia.

All three innings were match-winning innings and lasted for little time. But they had the audacity to change the fate of the game. And in the current Australian team, the batsman who can produce such nerveless innings is Glenn Maxwell.

The right-hand batsman is a natural hitter of the ball and in Tests, his aggressive batting can turn the tables in no time. Importantly, Maxwell is an effective player of spin and has in his armoury plenty of sweeps, paddle-sweeps, and reverse-sweeps.

Undoubtedly, he is Australia's X- factor in this series and even if he explodes in just one innings, it will be sufficient for Australia to win a game.

#3. Josh Hazlewood

Hazlewood will spearhead Australia's pace bowling attack

In the absence of Mitchell Starc, Australia's pace department will be headed by Josh Hazlewood. Regarded as an ideal Test match bowler, Hazlewood has the rare ability to bowl in one channel for eternity without losing any venom.

Currently ranked at number four in ICC Test bowling rankings, the Australian seamer picked up six wickets in the second innings of the Bengaluru Test against India earlier this year.

His accurate bowling and probing lines will play a huge role in the two Tests against Bangladesh. If Hazlewood is able to claim wickets with the new ball then the job of rest of the bowlers will become easy.

Also, the pace bowler's ability to use the old ball can seriously tilt the balance of the contest in Australia's favour.

#2. Nathan Lyon

Lyon is Australia's trump card

Steve Smith's trump card for the Bangladesh series, Nathan Lyon has immense responsibilities on his shoulders.

The Test series will be a trial by spin and hence Australia's best chance of picking 20 wickets lies with their spinners. Australia's spin department consists of Ashton Agar and Lyon.

Agar has an experience of just a couple of tests and thus Lyon becomes Smith's premier spinner. In conditions that will assist his bowling style, Lyon will have to produce his best to outfox Bangladeshi batsmen.

Lyon has featured in 67 Tests so far and hence his experience will be important for Australia in this Test series. He has played 13 Tests in the sub-continent and his tally of 58 wickets in them is a testimony to his efficient bowling skills.

The Aussie spinner thrives on drift and loop and his biggest asset is his deceptive length. Bangladesh has plenty of left-handers in their ranks and Lyon can be the biggest threat to them.

#1. Steve Smith

The run-machine Smith will be a key in this series

At the moment, Steve Smith is world's best test batsman. Since 2014, he averages 73.81 in the longest format of the game and has piled up 18 hundreds in the period, the most by any batsman in the world.

Using an unconventional technique, Smith has scored runs in all parts of the world and against all types of attacks. What makes him a dangerous batsman is the fact that he has no definite flaws in his batting.

The Aussie batsman plays spin and pace nonchalantly and against Bangladesh, he would be Australia's most lethal weapon.

In the recently concluded Test series against India, Smith was the highest run-scorer with 499 runs while in the series against Sri Lanka in 2016, he made 247 runs in six innings.

Smith's purple patch is a huge boost for the visitors and hence his contributions with the bat could well decide the fate of the Test series.