“Marnus Labuschagne doesn’t look comfortable against him” - Rashid Latif names Indian bowler who could trouble Aussie in Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif reckons that Team India pacer Mohammed Siraj could trouble in-form Australian batter Marnus Labuschagne during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

According to Latif, Labuschagne did not look very comfortable against Siraj when the teams met Down Under during the 2020-21 series.

The Aussie was the leading run-getter during the previous Test series between the two teams. In four matches, he smashed 426 runs at an average of 53.25, with one hundred and two fifties.

However, Siraj, who made his Test debut in the second match of the series, dismissed him twice in three games and also troubled the batter with his pace and movement.

Labuschagne, the No. 1 ranked Test batter, is yet to play a Test match in India. While terming the right-hander as a very good player, Latif said during a discussion on the YouTube channel ‘Caught Behind’:

“I feel Mohammed Siraj could trouble Marnus Labuschagne. He had dismissed the batter a couple of times in Australia as well and doesn’t look comfortable against him. But Labuschagne is a very good player and is in form as well.”

Having made his Test debut in 2018, Labuschagne has established himself as one of the lynchpins of the Australian batting line-up. In 33 matches, he has scored 3150 runs at an average of 59.43, with 10 hundreds and 14 fifties.

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“Smith, Khawaja and Travis Head” - Rashid Latif on the three Aussie batters he expects to do well in India

Latif further discussed Australia’s batting strength for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He named Steve Smith, Usman Khawaja and Travis Head as the three batters from whom he is expecting quite a few runs. The 54-year-old commented:

“Smith, Khawaja and Travis Head are three players who could perform well, according to me. It’s not like [David] Warner and Labuschagne won’t perform. They are also very good batters.

“We would witness an excellent series because we are talking about the world’s top 10 players, be it from India or Australia. There are a lot of star performers in both sides.”

The four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy will begin with the first Test at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur from February 9. India need to win the series by a comprehensive margin to keep their hopes of qualifying for the World Test Championship (WTC) final alive.