'Little Master' Gavaskar's hard hitting message to the 'Baggy Green' comes as a counter to Steve Smith's challenge of taking on the formidable Indian seam attack.
A few days ago, Smith had opened up a war of words by stating that he is ever ready to take on the short pitch barrage on offer by the Indian seamers on the pacy and bouncy wickets in Australia. Gavaskar countered Smith's sublime confidence of taking on the bouncer challenge by making the Australian team wary about Indian speedster Mohammed Shami's devastating pace bowling spells in the longer format of the game.
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Shami who has been the cornerstone of the Indian seam attack across both the red and white ball format, could unnerve the Australian batting lineup if the seamer is at his menacing best. Gavaskar is of the view that Shami possesses a lethal bounder in his repertoire and if he gets them on target, he could create quite a few problems for the frontline Australian batsmen.
Speaking about Smith's bouncer-challenge, Gavaskar said that no batsman is 'ever ready' to face the short ball.
Gavaskar Counters Smith's Statement On Taking On Short Pitch Bowling Offered By Indian Seamers
“No one is ever ready for the short ball! A good short ball will trouble the best of batsmen. Nobody can say ‘I’m ready’. Mohammed Shami in particular has a fabulous bouncer. If he gets it right on target, then you can be pretty certain that not too many batsmen will be able to negotiate him," Gavaskar told Sportstar.
“He is not very tall and his short ball will come skidding at you around your shoulder and head, and that’s the most difficult delivery to play. If his rhythm is right, he will not be an easy bowler to play,” Gavaskar added. Team India's tour of Australia starts with a three-match ODI series from November 27.