Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer has hailed Travis Head and compared him with legendary Adam Gilchrist, stating there are shades of the former wicket-keeper bat in the South Australian. Head was the star of the show for Australia in the World Test Championship final against India as the left-hander scored 163 runs in the first innings.
Australia was under the pump at 73-3 in the first innings but Head was able to hit the ground running and took the attack against the Indian bowlers. Ergo, he played a key role in helping Australia post a gargantuan total of 469 runs on the board. Head added a huge alliance of 285 runs with Steve Smith, who scored a magnificent knock of 121 runs in the first essay.
Meanwhile, Adam Gilchrist was known for his aggressive batting and Head has been batting like a dream in the last two years. The pugnacious left-hander scored a total of 1389 runs in 18 Test matches of the WTC 21-23 cycle at an average of 55.56 and more importantly at a blistering strike rate of 81.80.
Jaffer told Sportskeeda: “There are shades of Adam Gilchrist in Travis Head’s batting. He has been one of Australia’s most consistent players in recent times after Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne. Usman Khawaja has also scored a lot of runs, but Travis Head is a much improved player in recent times.
“We saw in the Ashes as well, when Australia are in trouble due to early wickets, he comes in and counter-attacks. The opposition bowlers and captains fear such batters,” he added.
Head was at his absolute best as he hammered the Indian bowlers to all parts of the ground. Jaffer added that Head’s innings was the game-changing moment as he scored at a brisk pace.
“Head’s innings was the game-changing moment for Australia. They were asked for bat first after losing the toss and found themselves at 70-odd for three wickets. The Test could have gone either way from there. But he came in and featured in that massive partnership [with Smith].”
It was brilliant batting from Travis Head and he followed his template of batting aggressively against India. Head will once again hold the key for Australia in the upcoming Ashes against England.
