Brad Hogg hails Ashwin-Jadeja as best spin duo in the world

Australia’s Brad Hogg is not a new name for the Indian cricket fans. His love affair with the subcontinental country is well known. It was in India that the chinaman had made his international debut. In the most recent times, he has lit up the crowds in the IPL with his prolific bowling despite being on the wrong side of the age.

Now, team Australia has arrived in India and are ready to play four-match Test series. The contest and build up to the contest is heating up with the war of words starting off. In a recent conversation with the Times of India, Brad Hogg spoke at length about the various prospects that he sees in the upcoming Test series.

Among the most notable mentions made was about the Indian spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Both bowlers have been in a phenomenal form and the results are there for everybody to see. He referred the duo as the best in the world at the moment. He cited Ashwin’s height to be the distinguishing factor for him and lauded Jadeja for his line and lengths.

“Ashwin and Jadeja are probably the best spin duo in world at the moment. Ashwin has got the height and uses it to get the bounce and his line and lengths are always spot on. Jadeja, on most conditions, is lethal because he doesn’t give much away. One key factor in the success of the duo is that they are relentless and their intensity never goes down over prolonged periods. Even when things aren’t going their way, the two find their way to get wickets. The way they are bowling at home, those are conditions that are conducive to their type of bowling,” quoted Brad Hogg.

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In a bid to be competitive, the Australian selectors have drafted in 3 specialist spinners in the squad. Steve O’ Keefe is one of those key spinners. Talking about him, Hogg remarked that his role will predominantly be like the one Jadeja plays for India. He rightly cited how Taijul Islam troubled the Indian batters in the recently concluded India v Bangladesh Test.

“I feel he bowls a lot like Jadeja, and could be someone who could be a handful against the Indian team. If you watched the India-Bangladesh Test in Hyderabad, left-arm spinner Taijul Islam bowled well and did trouble Virat Kohli’s side. I think O’Keefe is probably is our best bet (spin-wise) against this Indian line-up. He is a left-arm spinner and if you look at the top-7 of the Indian order – they all are right-hand batsmen. So, if he can bowl like Taijul, attack the stumps, then he would be the most dangerous weapon among our spinners,” remarked Hogg.

He also showered heavy praise on Indian chinaman Kuldeep Yadav. Both Yadav and Hogg played for the same franchise in the IPL – Kolkata Knight Riders. Yadav certainly did pick up a lot of brains from Hogg during the event last year.

“Kuldeep is someone who has got the talent and we are going to see a lot of him in the coming years. He will definitely be one of the best chinaman bowlers to have graced the game in a long time. I was surprised that India went with three quicks and left Kuldeep out during the Bangladesh game. He has done exceptionally well in first-class cricket this season. I think he would definitely be a handful for the Australians if he gets a game,” Brad Hogg spoke about Kuldeep Yadav.