“Is he your reliable 10-over bowler?” - Aakash Chopra on Australia considering Glenn Maxwell as a frontline spinner

Former Indian batter Aakash Chopra is unsure about Australian chief selector George Bailey’s observation that batting all-rounder Glenn Maxwell should be considered a frontline spinner. According to Chopra, there are question marks over whether Maxwell can give the team 10 overs consistently.

The Aussies go into World Cup 2023 with only one main spinner in leggie Adam Zampa. After left-arm spinner Ashton Agar was ruled out due to injury, he was replaced by batter Marnus Labuschagne in the 15-man squad. Bailey, however, defended the move and termed Maxwell a “specialist spinner”.

While sharing his thoughts on Australia’s World Cup 2023 squad, Chopra [3:25] referred to the lack of spinners as one of the issues.

“Australia is an interesting team. No other side has won more World Cups than them. They know how to win, how to play well and turn it on in the big events. This has been the team’s strength, but there are some issues in the squad," he said on his YouTube channel.

“In India, you need spinners to come and bowl, but there are hardly any spinners. They have Adam Zampa and Glenn Maxwell. The latter picked four wickets recently, dismissing Rohit and Kohli as well. He was very good, but is he your reliable 10-over bowler? When asked about it, George Bailey said Maxwell can’t be taken lightly; he is a good bowler,” Chopra added.

Maxwell was the Player of the Match for figures of 4/40 as Australia beat India in the third ODI in Rajkot recently. Apart from Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, he also dismissed Washington Sundar and Shreyas Iyer.

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“They are not playing at places where the ball will turn a lot” - Chopra on Australia’s venues for the 2023 World Cup

While reiterating that Australia might rue not having many spin options in their squad, Chopra added that the team might get away with it. He pointed out that the venues at which the Aussies will be playing World Cup matches are not known to offer too much turn.

“Bailey also pointed out that Australia don’t bowl spin for more than 20 overs majority of the times. Looking at the venues where they will be playing matches, they are not playing at places where the ball will turn a lot,” Chopra concluded.

Australia will be playing their World Cup 2023 matches at Chennai, Lucknow, Bengaluru, Delhi, Dharamsala, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, and Pune.