MUMBAI, Nov 20: Former left-arm pacer Zaheer Khan believes bowlers will decide the fate of this summer�s India-Australia contest as both the teams boast of some of the world�s finest bowlers in their squads. The Indian cricket team is currently in Australia for a full series that includes three ODIs and as many T20 Internationals followed by a four-Test rubber. The tour will start with the ODIs here on November 27. With the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, to name a few, up their ranks, both India and Australia have formidable bowling attacks.
�The Australian pitches have always had good bounce and pace, so I think the area which will decide the ODIs, T20Is and Tests will be the bowlers and how well the team bowls as a unit to restrict the opponent to a lower total on the scoreboard,� said Zaheer, who was part of the 2011 World Cup winning Indian team. �When someone talks about the top line bowlers in the world right now, the names of the players that come to our mind will all be on the pitch in this series,� he added.
Zaheer also said that India are set to face a stern test in Australia this summer due to the presence of Steve Smith and David Warner.
India had defeated Australia 2-1 in their last Test series Down Under in 2018-19 in the absence of Warner and Smith, as both the players were serving an year-long ban for the infamous ball tampering scandal. � PTI
