IND vs AUS: Michael Vaughan and Ravi Shastri Criticise Khawaja’s Decision to Let McSweeney Face Bumrah First
Former cricketers Michael Vaughan and Ravi Shastri criticised Australia opener Usman Khawaja for not taking the first strike against Jasprit Bumrah during the second innings of the first Test between Australia and India in Perth. They felt it was a poor decision at such a crucial moment.
Khawaja’s new opening partner, Nathan McSweeney, took the first strike in the second innings but was dismissed for a duck after facing just four balls from Jasprit Bumrah. As a debutant, McSweeney struggled against Bumrah, who is considered one of the best bowlers in the world at the moment.
McSweeney was also dismissed by Bumrah in the first innings. The young debutant appeared nervous and struggled to handle the pressure from India’s stand-in captain. He scored just 10 runs in the first innings and failed to score in the second, making a total of 10 runs across both innings of the match. Vaughan said:
“I’d have loved to have seen the senior pro-Usman Khawaja say to the youngster, ‘I’m taking that first over. Twenty-four minutes, it was to just get through the day’s play. Just little details like that, I’d love to have seen the senior player just say to the youngster I’ll take the first over for us.”
Michael Vaughan stated that Usman Khawaja should have taken the first strike against Jasprit Bumrah instead of McSweeney. He expressed disappointment, expecting more from the senior player in such an important situation, as Khawaja’s experience could have been crucial in handling Bumrah’s challenging bowling.
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