Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar reckons it will be imperative for India to get rid of Australian opener Travis Head as soon as possible in the Champions Trophy’s semifinal on Tuesday. Head has been a thorn in India’s flesh in the past and the southpaw has delivered consistently across all formats.

The left-hander scored a magnificent century in the ODI World Cup 2023 final against India at Ahmedabad. Earlier, Head had also scored a fine hundred in the World Test Championship final against India.

In nine ODIs against India, Head has scored 345 runs at an average of 43.12 and has a strike rate of 101.76.

Sanjay Manjrekar said on ESPN Cricinfo, “Somebody get Travis Head out, whoever that is. He is one guy that India will really want back in the dressing room very quickly. That is going to be the moment for me. Travis Head.”

Manjrekar said the battle between Glenn Maxwell and the Indian spinners will be crucial as well.

“I think it’s going to be the middle phase. I think with Maxwell and Kuldeep Yadav or a spinner – Varun Chakravarthy. That would be the biggest thing.”

On the other hand, Indian captain Rohit Sharma dismissed claims that playing all matches in Dubai is giving an undue advantage to India. Sharma said different tracks have been used in the first three matches and they are playing in Dubai, not their home.

Rohit said in the presser on Monday, “In the semi-final, we don’t know which pitch is going to be played. Yes, we don’t know which pitch is going to be played in the semi-final. But whatever happens, we have to adapt and see what is happening. We will play on that. This is not our home, this is Dubai. So, we don’t play so many matches here. This is new for us too.”

India will take on Australia in the first semifinal at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai on Tuesday.