Matthew Short admits Australia wary of "tough" mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy

Carrara [Australia], November 5 (ANI): Australia's Matthew Short outlined the threat posed by mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy and the exacting challenge to nullify him in down under where surfaces hardly offer any assistance to the ball tweakers.

In the first three T20Is of the five-match series, India's top-tier speedster Jasprit Bumrah and young Harshit Rana have laboured to create impact on seaming strips. On the other hand, Chakravarthy has adapted impressively and devised a plan to claim wickets even though the ball has hardly danced to his will.

After resorting to a different approach, Varun has scythed four scalps and is the second highest across both teams after Australia's Nathan Ellis' tally of six. Short revealed that they have extensively watched Varun's bowling footage, and he remains a player to look out for. While considering the broader perspective, Short is wary about the carnage Varun can inflict on the subcontinent during next year's T20 World Cup.

"Oh he's tough, I think what makes it the hardest is just how quick he bowls, we've obviously watched a lot of footage and and whatnot but yeah that's probably going to be the other challenge heading to India if it is spinning or Sri Lanka as well so you know here in Australia it's probably not as much spin as a subcontinent obviously so yeah he's a tough one but yeah one we'll have to look out for," Short said while speaking to reporters on Wednesday.

Short, a top-order batter, has been shifted down in the middle, with captain Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head forming a formidable opening pair with Josh Inglis occupying the number three slot. With a new challenge of providing firepower at number seven and rolling his arms for off-spinning deliveries, Short explained the shift in approach he has made in his batting style to embrace the role.

"It probably changed a little bit, obviously when you you open the batting you've got all 20 overs to face so you could probably ease your way into the game but yeah coming in through the middle and later in the innings you pretty much have to go from ball one and I think yeah it is just having that intent straight away from ball one and trying to score as many as you can as quickly as you can and hopefully really back in that innings," Short added.

Certified finishers Tim David and Glenn Maxwell are the vital cogs in Australia's power-hitting machinery. Short admitted that, considering the experience of the hard-hitting duo and their experience of playing in India, it would be a taxing affair for him to break into the World Cup setup. Confirming his seat for a trip to India becomes a much more intricate affair, especially since his game against spin needs to be improved.

"Oh look it's hard to say, I think there's always ways to improve, you know probably looking at the World Cup, looking at India and Sri Lanka is probably my go, my game against spin, probably needs a little bit of work, you know especially if you look at our squad and the power hitters we've got through the middle, you know Tim David and Glenn Maxwell and Mitch Owen and Marcus Stoinis, you know guys who have had that experience in India before and have that real power game against spin, so yeah it's obviously a challenge and playing for Australia is not easy so yeah we'll have to wait and see," Short said. (ANI)

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