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Travis Head is being termed as a ‘Head-ache’ but Cheteshwar Pujara and Sanjay Bangar have a plan to counter him.
Travis Head (Picture Credit: AFP)
Cheteshwar Pujara gave India two connected strategies to counter Travis Head at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the fourth Test of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy: bowling the middle-off stump line and using bouncers as variations.
Head is the highest run-scorer of the series with 409 runs in just five innings at an average of 81.80 and has already scored two centuries. Former India head coach Ravi Shastri recently described him as a ‘Head-ache’ for the Indians, one for which balms aren’t working.
“Line is very important. Keep middle-off stumps line,” Pujara said on Star Sports. “Even if you are bowling over the stumps or around the wicket, don’t let the middle stump play as off-stump. The line should always be middle-off. In that line, he [Travis Head] looks very uncomfortable.”
“He is already uncomfortable against the short ball. He does play his shots, but if you have fielders for short balls, then use it as a variation. You don’t need to bowl every ball short; most of the deliveries should target the stumps with an occasional short ball. If they follow this strategy against him, the chances of success are high.”
Speaking on the same show, former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar also suggested a similar two-pronged strategy. It involves drying his runs from around the wicket (for right-arm pacers, the only variety India have) and if that doesn’t work, doing so from the other angle.
“At the start of the innings, go around the wicket and bowl in the corridor. If it proves successful in the first 10-15 balls, stick to that plan. Plan A is to come around the wicket and make him play at off stump. If there’s no success, shift to over the wicket with more fielders on the on-side and a deep third man,” Bangar advised.
“By sticking to the middle-stump line, you force him to do something different. Against the short ball, his bat always comes into play, making deep third man, deep fine leg, and deep square leg potential catching positions. This approach dries up his scoring opportunities and creates pressure. India needs to persist with this plan and have patience to neutralize the Travis Head threat,” he added.
