Travis Head set to dominate India as opener in BGT 2024-25? Ian Chappell drops bold verdict

Legendary Australia cricketer Ian Chappell reckons that the Indian bowling attack won't be affected even if Travis Head moves up to open the innings in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.

There is a strong possibility regarding Travis Head moving up to open the batting for Australia in Test cricket. Head currently bats at No. 5 and has had tremendous success in that position over the years.

But his recent form has been excellent which can pave the way for his success at the top as well. Chappell, though, thinks otherwise and feels that the strong Indian bowling attack will be unfazed by this move.

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"A strong Indian attack will be hard to bluff" - Ian Chappell

While writing for a column in ESPNCricinfo, Ian Chappell claimed that the tactic of moving Travis Head up the order might work against a smaller team but not against India. He feels that Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj will be hardly affected by this move.

"If it were a lesser opponent it might have some merit but a strong Indian attack will be hard to bluff. Any move to open with Head that is designed to unsettle Jasprit Bumrah is asking a lot of the batter. (Jasprit) Bumrah and to a lesser extent Mohammad Siraj, are unlikely to be battered into altering their attacking mentality," Chappell wrote.

The former Australia batter also warned Travis Head against the off-spin of Ravichandran Ashwin. He feels that the experienced Ashwin is unlikely to panic with Head's move up the order.

"As well as fine fast bowlers, (Travis) Head is also vulnerable against good off-spin bowling. The wily R Ashwin is unlikely to be panicked by an opponent's ultra-aggressive approach. The argument could be mounted that opening with Head means he'd be more settled facing Ashwin with some runs on the board," Chappell added.

Strong Indian bowling attack a challenge for Travis Head

India's strong bowling attack will be a challenge for the Australian batters even though they are playing in their own conditions. Australia lost the last two series played between these two teams down under and are desperate to turn things around this time.

Jasprit Bumrah is likely to lead India's attack in Australia with Mohammed Siraj as the other fast bowler. Mohammed Shami's fitness is still under the scanner while Akash Deep has emerged as a good bowling option in his limited opportunities so far. Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are likely to be the frontline spinners.

Steve Smith in the opening position

Australia team management is still searching for their next opening pair in Test cricket. After the retirement of David Warner, Steve Smith moved up from No. 4 to the opening spot. However, he has struggled facing the brand-new ball so far.

Smith, who is known to be a master in Test cricket, has had a poor run at the opening position which is forcing the Australian team management to look at other options to partner Usman Khawaja at the top.

One of the ways to counter this situation is to move Travis Head up the order. Head is already Australia's opener in both the white-ball formats but hasn't opened in red-ball cricket so far. The left-hander has been highly successful while opening the batting in ODIs and T20Is.