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Days after the conclusion of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25, former spinner Kerry O’Keefe revealed the tactics of the Australian cricket team. The former cricketer believed that they attacked skipper Rohit Sharma psychologically after they were unable to do so last time with Ajinkya Rahane.
Giving an example from the previous series and different tours, Kerry O’ Keefe said that Australia’s tactics of successfully taking down visiting teams have worked wonders, and the most recent example is that of Rohit Sharma, who was eventually forced to sit out of the Sydney Test. However, the former spinner also explained that they struggled to go past Jasprit Bumrah, but got under Rohit Sharma’s skin.
They brought Rohit straight down away: Kerry O’Keefe
Speaking on Fox Cricket, the former Australian spinner said, “They couldn’t bring down (Jasprit) Bumrah. He was too good. But then the baton was passed to Rohit Sharma, and they brought him down straight away, to the extent that he withdrew from the final Test.” “So that’s a tactic they seem to want to do if they can, if they can break the skipper and make him anonymous, it empowers them,” he added.
The 75-year-old further explained how Australia’s inability to dominate Ajinkya Rahane the last time India toured down under for the BGT 2021-22, helped the visitors seal the series. “They couldn’t get Ajinkya Rahane the last time, and he won the series,” he continued. The former cricketer further went onto to reiterate how this tactic has helped the side come out victorious in the past.
“But if you look at the captains they’ve brought down in recent times, Sharma. Tick. Shan Masood with Pakistan. It was three-nil. Kraigg Brathwaite, it was one-all, but they were on top of Kraigg. They went to New Zealand and brought down Tim Southee, winning two-nil,” O’Keefe added.
As far as Rohit Sharma is concerned, the skipper had a forgettable outing down under, scoring just 31 runs across three Tests at an average of 6.20. Moreover, with this defeat India not only missed to secure a place in the World Test Championship final, Australia successfully qualified for their second straight WTC final, where they will take on South Africa from June 11 to 15 at the Lord’s Cricket Ground.
