What’s the story?
Legendary Australian leg spinner Shane Warne wants rookie leg spinner Mitchell Swepson to be included in the squad for the Test series against India, which starts in February. Warne’s suggestion has also been backed by World Cup-winning captain Michael Clarke, who believes the 23-year-old will provide Steve Smith with options.
“When I look at the spinners, Nathan Lyon's definitely number one for me. I think O'Keefe is the safe option. I think young Swepson could've played in this Test match," Warne said. “People might say he's not ready, he hasn't played enough. I just think back at my own career. I wasn't ready for Test cricket either, but the experience helped me for the rest of my career.“
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In case you didn’t know...
Mitchell Swepson is a 23-year-old leg spinner who is currently playing for Brisbane Heat in the ongoing KFC Big Bash. He has only played 14 first-class matches but has picked up 41 wickets. Nathan Lyon is Australia’s first-choice spinner and with Steve O’Keefe impressing in Australia’s 220-run win over Pakistan in Sydney, he is all but assured of a spot on the plane to India.
With an off-spinner and a left-arm spinner in the squad, Australia will be looking for a leg spinner to complete the set in conditions conducive to spin and both Clarke and Warne believe that Swepson deserves that spot ahead of Adam Zampa, who finished 2016 as the leading wicket-taker in ODIs.
The heart of the matter
Swepson has only played 36 matches in his career and is just 23 and playing in just his second summer as a first-class player. He has already represented Australia A in the longest format in the series against South Africa A and India A and even picked four wickets against the latter.
Warne’s decision to go for Swepson ahead of the more experienced Adam Zampa, who already has a year of international cricket under his belt and is Australia’s No.1 limited-overs spinner, is telling. But the point that Warne makes about Swepson being around the group and bowling in the nets even if he doesn’t play also makes sense.
What next?
Australia completed a 3-0 series win over Pakistan in Tests and will now play them in the ODI series and then take on Sri Lanka in February before the four-match Test series against India in India which begins on February 27. While the squad for the ODI series has been announced it will be interesting to see the squad for the India series which is still over a month away.
Sportskeeda’s take
One look at the numbers suggest that Swepson doesn’t have too many games under his belt and while he does provide a different option for Smith, taking such an untested option to India might end up scarring him. All the more so, when you consider that Zampa has established himself in limited-overs and should probably be next in line for a Test call-up.
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