Australia cricket team batter Usman Khawaja has backed Travis Head to be his fellow opener for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series against India. The five-match IND vs AUS series will get underway from November 22. Khawaja’s remarks come amid the debate over the demotion of Steve Smith back to the middle order.
Khawaja prefers Head over Smith for opener role in IND vs AUS
As per Fox Sports, Khawaja advocated for Smith to return to his number 4 position, reckoning that it gave Australia the best chances to beat India. Steve Smith had assumed the role of an opener following David Warner’s retirement from Tests earlier this year. However, the former Australian skipper has fared poorly at the top, managing just 171 runs from 4 innings.
“Opening is a very important spot … (but) I still think we have the best Test player of my era in the side, in Steve Smith, and his best spot has been number four. I feel like that’s his best spot,” Khawaja said.
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What do Steve Smith’s numbers say?
Batting at number 4 for over a decade, Steve Smith has amassed 5966 runs. On the contrary, he has managed only 171 runs so far as Australia’s opener in Tests. With 1744 runs batting at number 3 and 1258 runs at number 5, any position apart from the opener’s role seems better suited for Smudge.
| Position | Matches | Runs |
| Opener | 4 | 171 |
| No. 3 | 17 | 1744 |
| No. 4 | 111 | 5966 |
| No. 5 | 19 | 1258 |
What does Aussie coach have to say?
Australia head coach Andrew McDonald admitted that the conversation around Smith’s batting position was ongoing. He reckons that there are multiple layers to the decision making which involves parties including skipper Pat Cummins and the selectors. However, a decision is yet to be made.
“That’s the question on everyone’s lips, isn’t it? While we’ve got an eye to it, we haven’t made any firm decisions around that one,” McDonald said on Australian radio station SEN.
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