India vs Australia 2020: ‘You want to challenge yourself against the best’ – Mitchell Swepson is excited about bowling to Virat Kohli

Australian leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson recently expressed his excitement about the prospect of bowling to Virat Kohli, saying that the contest will help him improve his game. The 27-year old is a part of the 17-member Test squad scheduled to play India next month.

In an interview with cricket.com.au, Swepson termed Virat Kohli ‘a great cricketer’ and stated that bowling to any of the Indian batsmen will be a challenge in itself.

“You want to challenge yourself against the best, and it’s no secret he’s [Virat Kohli] up there with the best...For me it’s another challenge and another thing that excites me to be able to test myself against a great cricketer. Their whole batting line-up is world class. So any opportunity to bowl at those guys is a test for myself and a challenge I can’t wait to get,” Mitchell Swepson said.

Mitchell Swepson is also in red-hot form and has scalped 23 wickets in three Sheffield Shield matches at an impressive average of 21.17 this season. The leggie has all the more reason to perform well after sitting out the Sydney Test against New Zealand earlier this year.

He was then primed to make his Test debut against Bangladesh, but the tour eventually got postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

‘I’ll be preparing to play all four games,’ says Mitchell Swepson

Mitchell Swepson during a training session last year

There is still a cloud of uncertainty over Mitchell Swepson’s inclusion in the playing XI, especially ahead of Australia’s No. 1 spinner Nathan Lyon. There is, however, a chance of both of them exploiting the spin-friendly nature of the Sydney Cricket Ground pitch.

India and Australia will arrive in Sydney to play the third Test from January 7-11, but there won’t be any Virat Kohli for he will be flying out after the first Test to attend the birth of his child. Swepson, though, is hopeful of playing all four Tests.

“Gaz [Nathan Lyon] is obviously the premier spinner and has been for a while...He’s proven himself time and again in Test matches. I’m not counting my chickens too much there with getting a go above him. But of conditions suit, there may be a chance they play two spinners.

"I’ll be preparing to play all four games. If the chance comes, I’ll hopefully take it with two hands. And if not, so be it. I’m sure there’ll be more chances in the future,” Mitchell Swepson concluded.

India’s tour of Australia will start with the ODIs on November 27 followed by a 3-match T20I series, before finally finishing with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy which begins on December 17.