‘India certainly going to trouble us with Jasprit Bumrah…’ Ex-Australian skipper voices worries over their batting line up | Cricket News

NEW DELHI: Australia sealed a memorable win in Christchurch with an unbeaten 98 from Alex Carey and a stunning 140-run partnership with Mitch Marsh, securing a clean sweep of the series with a 2-0 victory.
Former Test captain Tim Paine didn’t hold back in his assessment of Australia’s batting line up, expressing serious concerns about their performance and questioning whether the coaching staff and selectors were properly evaluating their output.
Paine particularly singled out Steve Smith, suggesting that he should return to his former position at No.4 after struggling as an opener.

“To me, it looks a better side with him at No.4,” Paine commented on SEN. “Whether that means you’re not playing someone else in the middle or one of them, like a Travis Head, goes to open. I know Travis doesn’t want to do that… so maybe it’s time to go to the specialist opener because we’ve seen Steve get out to balls he doesn’t usually get out to.”
Despite some victories during the home summer, including a win in the opening Test against New Zealand, Australia faced challenges, especially with Travis Head’s run drought and uncertainties surrounding Smith’s effectiveness as an opener.
Paine’s candid remarks highlighted a pattern of not scoring enough runs and raised doubts about the assurances from leadership, coaching staff, and selectors regarding the team’s batting strength.
“We’re a better team than them (New Zealand) and it was the same against the West Indies, there seems to be a bit of a pattern. Not scoring enough runs… you can’t always believe what they’re telling you, but the leadership and coaching and captain and selectors say, ‘We have no concerns with our batters’. Well, I do now,” Paine stated.
He emphasized the need for answers before the upcoming series against India, expressing worry about facing formidable opponents like England and India with the current batting form.
“We might not beat New Zealand, we’ve lost a Test to West Indies, we wouldn’t beat England if they were playing well with a full-strength side. India are certainly going to trouble us with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, so there are some concerns.” Paine added.
Paine’s comments reflected internal discussions within the team about addressing the batting issues promptly to avoid further challenges in future matches.
The win marked the end of a grueling schedule for the Australian team, which endured six Tests in England last year. However, Tim Paine refused to use the demanding schedule as an excuse for the recent batting struggles, particularly emphasizing a potential change in Steve Smith’s batting position.
(Inputs from Agencies)