Steve Smith Names Two Indian Bowlers Who Can Prove To Be Mohammed Shami's Replacement

Prominent Australia batsman, Steve Smith believes that India has good depth in their bowling department to replace Mohammed Shami, who has been ruled out from the remainder of the tour. Shami was hit on his hand by a Pat Cummins’ bouncer while batting in the second innings in Adelaide.

He tried to continue to bat on, but wasn’t able to even hold the bat properly, and then left the field. The pacer didn’t come out to bowl in Australia’s second innings as he went to get scans, which revealed a fracture in his right arm.

India was already without the services of their senior pacer, Ishant Sharma – who picked up an injury in the IPL and consequently missed the entire tour down under – and now with Shami ruled out of the next three Test, the visitors’ are lost in the abyss- after the Adelaide debacle, and the loss of Virat Kohli, who returns home.

Best players find a way to adapt: Steve Smith

Steve Smith, however, feels that the visitors do have a couple of quality pace bowling options in their squad. Smith, referring to Navdeep Saini and Mohammed Siraj, feels that the two Royal Challengers Bangalore seamers can have a successful career in the longer format.

The former Australia skipper also acknowledges the as good as the youngsters can, India will surely miss the experience of Ishant Sharma – and Mohammed Shami – in further matches.

As quoted by PTI, Steve Smith said, “I think they’re two quality bowlers who can have some good Test careers. Obviously, they are missing Ishant (Sharma) as well, which is a big loss for them in terms of experience.”

The right-hander was skillfully dismissed for a solitary run by Ravichandran Ashwin in the first innings. The off-spinner set up Smith with a ball turning into him, followed by a straighter one, to which Smith nicked off into the hands of Ajinkya Rahane at slip.

Smith opened his account on the first ball he faced. However, he was tied down by the Indian bowlers for his next 27 deliveries before succumbing to Ashwin in the spinner’s first over.

The 31-year-old says that he is learning from his mistakes in Adelaide and hopefully would be able to tackle the Indian offie in Melbourne. Smith reckons that he needs to adapt according to the bowler and the pitch. He scored another single in the second innings. It is not to forget that even after just a couple of runs in the Adelaide, Smith still averages a mammoth 79 against India in Test cricket.

“The spinners that do well here generally those who get over the top of the ball and beat you with more bounce or in the air as opposed to ones that come around the ball.

“It’s about finding a way to adapt and that’s what the best players do around the world. I’ll hopefully learn something from that, move forward, and play a little bit better in the next game,” Steve Smith added.

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