Melbourne, Australia

Former India coach Ravi Shastri says 'picking up lengths' and 'improvement against short ball' are the reasons Aussie batter Travis Head has become so dangerous. The comments come after Head dominated the three Tests played in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series against India with two tons and a fifty in five innings.

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“I think he is very smart. From what I saw of him three years ago, he has improved immensely. Especially with the way he plays the short ball. He prepared to leave it. He has learned to leave it well at times,” Shastri said on the ICC Review.

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“It's not a big shot all the time off a short delivery angled at his armpits or something. He's prepared to either ride it or go for the big shots. And if it is middle, middle and off, then he hits it in front of square as well.

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“He picks up length very well. That's one of his great strengths. And he has a flashing blade for the offside. So he's a hard man to contain. And he's in the form of his life,” the former India coach added.

Head has scored 409 runs in the ongoing series at an average of 81 and a highest score of 152. Overall, in the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) cycle Head has scored 1040 runs in 15 Tests.

The batter, however, is the nemesis of India and has hit runs on all the big occasions against them. Head had hit a century against India in the WTC 2023 Final, ODI World Cup 2023 Final and most recently in the second and third Tests of BGT.

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India bowlers have mostly found themselves clueless against his counter-attacking style and Head has run away with the game by blasting the bowlers.