Steve Waugh doubts the use of Mitchell Swepson in the first Test

Former Australia skipper Steve Waugh has stated that Mitchell Swepson is someone who will certainly take the batsmen by surprise, but is not someone the Aussies will be looking to play in the first Test match against India in Pune. At the moment, the Australia cricket team are in Dubai preparing for the India tour with the Aussie selectors naming a massively changed squad for the upcoming Sri Lanka tour in the interim.

While Swpeson is indeed one of the few spinners named in the side, it seems clear that the Aussies will certainly not be tempted to rush him into the grand scheme of things. With the likes of Nathan Lyon and Ashton Agar in the disposal for the Aussies, it would seem clear that Swepson would only be used as the third spinner if need be.

Steve Waugh was the captain of the Australia side that went ahead and lost to a resurgent India in the 2001/2002 series, something that definitely saw the Indians turn a corner in the grand scheme of things. While this certainly holds to be true for the most part, the fact is that there has been a lot of focus on spin, something that has seen them travel to Dubai as well to play on those pitches that certainly support turning wickets as well.

Speaking o a video, Waugh went ahead and stated that the Aussies would indeed be tempted to play Swepson in Pune. “Australia will be tempted to throw him in that first Test side because it does bring that element of surprise against the Indian batsman. They wouldn’t have seen much of him and they wouldn’t have planned too much against him,” Waugh said.

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