"Australia Misses Warner’s Aggression": Ravi Shastri on the Team’s Struggles

Former India cricketer and head coach Ravi Shastri thinks Australia is missing the aggressive style of play that David Warner used to bring to the table in the current Test series. Warner retired from Test cricket earlier this year after the third match against Pakistan in Sydney. Since his retirement Australia has had trouble finding a suitable replacement with Steve Smith and Nathan McSweeney being tried in the top order.

Smith and McSweeney made great efforts, but both failed to fill the boots of Warner and as such Australia decided to believe in another young man Sam Konstas, who was given an opportunity before the fourth Test in Melbourne. Shastri while talking about this said that the team was forced to make some changes due to the failure of the Australian top order to deliver. They wanted a man who could play aggressive cricket as Warner did.

“It was coming, someone had to go from the top order because there were no punches coming from anywhere. India were allowed to bowl at them. They need someone who will take to the attack and that’s where Australia misses David Warner in a big way. This is where Australia will realize the impact Warner had on the opposition in the decade he played,” Shastri said, as quoted by Fox Cricket.

Warner is regarded as one of Australia's greatest opening batsmen ever in Test cricket. He retired with 8,786 runs from 112 matches at a mean of 44.59, including 26 centuries and seven fifties. The left-hander played a very important role in giving Australia strong starts with the bat, more often than not setting the tone for their innings.

A Challenging Debut: Facing Jasprit Bumrah in the Boxing Day Test

The new Test player Sam Konstas comes into the match full of confidence after registering three fifty-plus scores from his last four innings. He has been in remarkable form in the Sheffield Shield, being the second run-getter for New South Wales (NSW), tallying 471 runs off eight innings at an impressive average of 58.87 including two centuries and one fifty.

Konstas also made some outstanding contributions earlier when scoring a brilliant 107 from 97 balls for the Prime Minister's XI against India in the pink-ball warm-up match. His innings included 14 fours as well as a six where his team reached a good total of 240. But he also played a match-winning unbeaten knock of 73 in the second match of the unofficial Test when India A was playing.

However, India's deadly pacer Jasprit Bumrah is likely to be a major test for Konstas, as he will get the new ball on the first day of the Boxing Day Test. Bumrah was a nightmare for his predecessor Nathan McSweeney, and he is not going to be easy for this young debutant.

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