Senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh feels the current Australian squad is the weakest ever in recent times to tour India, PTI reported.
“I have played against some of the best Australian sides,” Harbhajan said. “In my opinion, looking at the composition, this is the weakest Australian side to tour India.
“I don’t think this team has the wherewithal to cope with a quality Indian side in the Indian conditions. It can again be 4-0 like 2013 season,” he added.
India are being touted to be the favourites going into the four-Test series that kicks off with in Pune on February 23.
Harbhajan had famously scalped a record 32 wickets during the famous 2001 series against a formidable Australia outfit. Asked if the Australian team could spoil India’s dominant run at home, the veteran spinner felt their batting line-up would not hold much ground against India’s spinners.
“That team 2001 had Matthew Hayden, Michael Slater, Adam Gilchrist, Rickey Ponting and Steve Waugh,” he said.
“In this team, if you take Steve Smith and David Warner out, I don’t think this batting line-up can offer resistance to Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Both know how to get wickets on the Indian tracks.”
In fact, the ‘Turbanator’ termed the England side that was drubbed 0-4, as a better outfit than this Australian side.
“I believe the England team that toured India recently were a better batting outfit. They scored 400 plus runs on a multiple occasions. It’s not going to happen with this Australian side,” Harbhajan declared.