"To have a tactic against Ashwin, having a clone is a good preparation" - Sanjay Manjrekar on Australia's groundwork to face the off-spinner 

Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar believes that Australia's decision to practice with a bowler whose action mirrors that of Ravichandran Ashwin is a solid move.

The Australian team roped in Mahesh Pithiya, a 21-year-old spinner from Baroda, for their four-day preparatory camp in Alur. The youngster's bowling action greatly resembles Aswin's, prompting the Aussies to face him in the nets.

Although the senior off-spinner will be a much trickier prospect to face in the Test series, the visiting batters will at least be mentally ready for the impending challenge.

Stating that the biggest challenge for the Aussie batters will be to survive the initial five minutes on rank turners, Manjrekar said during an interaction with ESPN Cricinfo:

"To have a tactic against Ashwin, having a clone is a good preparation. But the hard work and smartness has to come in by going in and finding a way to survive, and not with a pre-conditioned approach.

"You just have to find a way to survive the first few minutes and I have seen it happen with some foreign batters. When they survive, they just find a way to play on such pitches."

Opining that despite Ashwin boasting several skills and variations, the veteran spinner's biggest asset is the accuracy with which he bowls. Manjrekar continued:

"It is not going to be easy facing Ashwin. The thing that I admire about Ashwin, we all talk about his variations and everything, but we forget one very important thing about Ashwin, especially in Indian conditions and that is the accuracy with which he bowls.

"Ashwin rarely bowls a bad ball. If you are not accurate on turning pitches, it gives the batter room to play shots."

Ashwin has been more than just a thorn for Australia, claiming 89 wickets in 18 Tests against them at an average of 31.48.

---

"Rishabh Pant has been by far India's best Test batter in the last two years" - Sanjay Manjrekar

Team India will not have the services of one of their best red-ball players in Rishabh Pant, who sustained major injuries in a car crash and is far from making a return, primarily due to his knee ligament injuries.

The Men in Blue are likely to field KS Bharat as the wicketkeeper while Ishan Kishan, who received his maiden Test team call-up, is also an option.

Speaking about Team India's batting and bowling as a whole, Manjrekar said:

"I think Indian bowling is pretty good, even if the pitch does not turn, they have got quality seamers."

Manjrekar added:

"I still feel that India still needs Pujara because of the batting issues in the lineup. Rishabh Pant has been by far India's best Test batter in the last two years."

Pant played a crucial role in Team India's triumph Down Under in the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The southpaw's aggressive approach and ability to take down opposition spinners would have come in handy in the upcoming series.

Team India and Australia will lock horns in the first Test of the series in Nagpur from Thursday, February 9, onwards.

Who will win the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy? Let us know what you think.

---