David Warner plans to play switch hits to tackle Ravichandran Ashwin

The explosive opening batsman from Australia David Warner has had a torrid time so far on the tour to India. He hasn’t been able to provide the kind of destructive starts that he usually does most of which has been caused by India’s offie Ravichandran Ashwin. He has dismissed Warner on 3 out of 4 innings so far in 2 Tests.

Warner now is planning to bring his T20 aspects in the longest format of the game. He will be looking to play switch hits against Ashwin by switching his stances to that of a right-hander. In the nets, he is practicing this stroke and he spoke to cricket.com.au regarding his preparations ahead of the third Test at Ranchi.

“Last Test I had indeed gone for a few reverse switch shots in which I succeeded, but then the only concern for me was the variable bounce in that pitch. If you miss that and switch hit you can still be given out lbw, but if you reverse sweep, you can’t. So, you have to be careful”, said the 30-year-old.

The left-hander also praised Ashwin for his wicket taking abilities and quick thinking on the cricket field. He added, “I know my mind. If I play one shot then he would change something and I know if he tries something I’m thinking in the back of my mind how am I going to score? That’s credit to him. He’s a fantastic bowler, he’s got a lot of wickets in his backyard and I have to respect that.”

Ashwin has literally got Warner’s number as he has got him out 9 times in 23 Test innings which is the most by any bowler against Warner. “Nine times it has been now. Credit to him that he has done it so many times while poor for me to misjudge it most of the times,” said Warner.

The off-spinner has got him in trouble by getting him out bowled or LBW and in such a case switch hit could be a good option and also the ball turning in would be an easier option to play than the ball going away. There lies a lot of risks with that shot too and it will be interesting to see how Warner executes that.