“Picking spinners for the sake of it not the way to success in India” - Greg Chappell points out major flaw in Australia’s planning

Greg Chappell has questioned Australia’s planning for the ongoing tour of India, in which they are already 0-2 down. According to the former captain, the Aussies picked spinners ahead of pacers looking at the conditions, even though the slow-bowling department is not their strong suit.

After being hammered by an innings and 132 runs in Nagpur, Australia decided to go in with only one pacer in Delhi - skipper Pat Cummins. They dropped Scott Boland and handed a Test debut to left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann.

While the Aussies fought hard with the ball in the second Test, they eventually went down by six wickets. In a column for The Sydney Morning Herald, Chappell picked holes in how Australia went about things in Delhi. He wrote:

“It was Mike Tyson who said in the lead-up to a fight with Evander Holyfield: “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. My concern after watching the first two Tests is that the Australian team punched themselves in the mouth long before the first ball was even bowled. It is one thing to plan, but to base that plan on a flawed premise is an exercise in futility.

“Australia needed to play to their strengths to have a chance of winning this series. Spin bowling is not our strength. Picking spinners for the sake of it is not the way to success in India. We had to pick our best bowlers and trust them to do the job and back that with sensible batting, based on sound principles.”

The 74-year-old opined that not picking Boland for the second Test and electing to go with a spinner not ready for Test cricket was a fatal mistake. Chappell was also perplexed with Cummins under-bowling himself. He wrote:

“That Cummins under-bowled himself and failed to use the short ball on a wicket of variable bounce was another mistake. To complete the trifecta, it seems that no one saw fit to tell Cummins that he was under-bowling and that he should use the short ball.”

While Cummins bowled 13 overs in the first innings in Delhi, he did not bowl at all in the second innings.

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“There are other shots that are less risky” - Chappell on Australia’s overuse of the sweep

Pointing out another major flaw in Australia’s approach, Chappell described the batters’ premeditated use of the sweep stroke as “indiscriminate” and “ridiculous”.

Stating that the sweep is a high-risk shot, especially for those who do not play it naturally, the Aussie great commented:

“Adding it to your repertoire in spinning conditions can be sensible, but not if it is the only option. There are other shots that are less risky and likely to be more profitable but, because the sweep for most batsmen has to be pre-meditated, the other options invariably fall by the wayside.

"One of the first things to learn about batting in Indian conditions is that you have more time than you realise. The main goal should be to survive the first couple of overs and rotate the strike. If you can survive that, then batting no longer seems as challenging as Fermat’s Last Theorem.”

Having lost the first two Tests, Australia will now be under pressure to avoid a 0-4 whitewash. The third Test begins in Indore on March 1.