Ashton Agar acknowledged on Friday that he wasn’t the front-line spinner despite a four-wicket haul against the Board President’s XI.
“I guess Adam [Zampa] is obviously the front-line spinner in the squad and he has performed well in previous tours and also in the Indian Premier League,” said Agar.
With flat pitches on offer, a wrist spinner like Zampa stands a better chance.
“I think they can certainly put more on the ball and don’t need more of the spinning track to spin the ball. They are good attacking options and can be hard to get away.
“I think they will play a big role in the series to be fair and can be difficult to pick their wrong-uns especially in the night.”
With Shikhar Dhawan out for the first three games, India’s top-order will be right-handed heavy and there might be a temptation for the visitors to play Agar alongside leg-spinner.
“Depending on the wicket we will decide whether to play two spinners or not. It’s harder to play the ball that is spinning away.”
Commenting on Dhawan’s absence, Agar said, “Shikhar is in great form so him not playing is a positive for us. It can be hard when you have a left-right combination, when the ball is swinging a certain way. That’s certainly an advantage for us.”
Meanwhile, India vice-captain Rohit Sharma all but confirmed that Ajinkya Rahane, who was the man-of-the-series against West Indies, will walk alongside him to open the innings.
He added that skipper Virat Kohli and the team management has identified K.L. Rahul for the No. 4 slot.
The last Test series between the two sides saw tempers flare both on and off the field.
When Rohit was asked about Australia’s subdued demeanour in the lead up to this series, he said: “We have to see once the tournament starts. Both teams are aggressive in nature. Having said that, spirit of the game always needs to be there and there needs to be a line which needs to be drawn.”
“But we all want to play aggressive cricket and that’s what India-Australia battle is all about. We come at each other very hard and that’s how this series is going to be played.”
