Dynamite News Ind vs Aus: Burns looks 'lost soul', would make Wade and Harris open, says Border
Former Australia skipper Allan Border has said that the Tim Paine-led side should look to make Matthew Wade open the batting alongside Marcus Harris in the upcoming first Test against India.
Adelaide: Former Australia skipper Allan Border has said that the Tim Paine-led side should look to make Matthew Wade open the batting alongside Marcus Harris in the upcoming first Test against India.
The first Test of the four-match series between Australia and India, beginning on December 17 will be played at the Adelaide Oval and it would be a day-night contest. Australia have the best-record in day-night Tests as the side has not lost a single match that has been played with the pink ball.
Joe Burns has been woefully out of form for the last three weeks so Border feels that it would not be right for the Australian selectors to expose the right-handed batsman in front of a quality Indian attack.
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"Look, it is a million-dollar question for Australian selectors. They would have thought about playing Burns and Warner together, but all of a sudden, Burns cannot get a run, he looks like a lost soul at the crease. It is almost impossible that Australian selectors would pick him, Warner is injured," said Border during a virtual press conference.
"I would be going with Marcus Harris and the other spot can be taken by Matthew Wade, who currently bats at five or six. He has opened in the white-ball format. He would do the job for you and this allows you to play Cameron Green. Green is our future and he would play a lot of cricket for Australia," he added.
"I think he has served his time, when I look around Australian cricket, we do not have many obvious replacements when Paine decides to move on. Cummins is a spearhead bowler, it is hard to be a captain, I think Smith would be a good choice, he has learnt his lesson and he would be a better captain in the future," he added.
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The Border-Gavaskar series will be telecasted on Sony Ten 3 (Hindi), Sony Ten 1, and Sony six channels. The first Test of the series, a pink-ball contest, will begin on December 17 at Adelaide. Australia had won the ODI series while the Men in Blue walked away with the honours in the T20I series.
When asked to pick his two players to watch out for in the upcoming Test series between India and Australia, Border named -- Jasprit Bumrah and Cameron Green. (ANI)