IND vs AUS: Ravi Shastri cautions Indian team of Australian player: 'He is outstanding'

Australia will take on Team India in the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Holkar Stadium at Indore from March 1. At one end Team India are already 2-0 up in the series and have retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Australia on the other end are under a lot of pressure as they have been till now not been able to solve the mystery of the Indian spinners and also they have also lost their Test captain Pat Cummins.

Pat Cummins went back to Australia due to some personal reasons before the third Test and Steve Smith would lead the Australian side in his absence. Former India coach Ravi Shastri believes that Cummins has made the right decision to go back to Sydney for her ailing mother.

'His concentration levels seem far higher', Shastri said

Shastri also believes that Steve Smith someone who can lead the team better than Cummins as his concentration level is much higher. Shastri in his column for The Age said, "Australia do have a readymade replacement at the top in Steve Smith. And I think that will work for them. The responsibility of captaincy seems to bring that different kind of mindset. His concentration levels seem far higher, and you just have to look at his batting average as captain. It is outstanding. He is one of those players who thrives on the extra workload of leading the side."

Smith will captain the Australian team for the third team and had also captained the side in 2016/17. Shastri further said, "There’s also the added element of how Smith will lead Australia here. He’s got a great understanding of Indian conditions, having led here before and also all the years he’s spent playing and captaining in the IPL. He understands the tempo of cricket in India better than what Cummins would have,"

Shastri also gave his views on Cameron Green and Mitchell Starc's return to the third Test match. Shastri said, “With Cameron Green coming back, Australia have six proper batters and even if two of them come off, they could score close to 300 and more in their first innings. That is key in Indore,”