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Labuschagne, who is Australia’s leading run scorer in World Test Championship history, has only managed to score one half-century in his last 10 Test innings.
Marnus Labuschagne scored 2 and 3 runs in the first Test against India. (Picture Credit: AP)
Former Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson wants Baggy Greens to drop out-of-form batter Marnus Laubuschagne from the playing XI for the second Test of the ongoing five-match Test series against India. The second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will be a day-night affair and will be played with a pink ball from December 6 to 10 at Adelaide Oval.
Labuschagne, who is Australia’s leading run scorer in World Test Championship (WTC) history, has been horribly out of form in Test cricket for quite some time now. The right-handed batter from Queensland, who scored 2 and 3 runs in the first Test against India, has only managed to score 50-plus score in his last 10 Test innings.
“Marnus Labuschagne—after a lengthy poor run with the bat—should be replaced for the second Test in Adelaide. And that’s not for the sake of having someone pay the price for the thrashing in Perth,” Johnson wrote in ‘Nightly.’
Johnson, who won ICC Cricketer of the Year two times during his playing days, said the snub from playing XI will help Labuschagne go back to domestic cricket and rediscover his form.
“It (dropping) would give him a chance to play some Sheffield Shield and club cricket away from the pressure of playing for your country. I feel he would benefit from that more than going out there trying to survive against Jasprit Bumrah and Co.,” he added.
Johnson said dropping Labuschagne should not be viewed as the end of the road for the top-order batter.
“In his past 10 Test innings, he’s passed 10 just once. He’s trying to fight through it in the middle, but it’s not currently working. Dropping Labuschagne, 30, would not mean he doesn’t still have a long future in the Test team or that he’s the wrong player to bat at three.
“For the time being in this form slump though, we need him to be better, which means making big runs, not bowling bouncers, and risking the potential of injury when that’s the job of the bowlers in the team,” he added.
Australia will miss the services of star pacer Josh Hazlewood in the pink ball Test against India after he was ruled out of the match on Saturday due to a ‘low grade left side injury’.
