Cricket news: England are all set to host India for a five-match Test series. England lost 3-1 in India earlier this year and will be keen to use their home advantage this time to turn things around. India on the other hand would be looking to win a test series in England for the first time since 2007. The youngsters had a good series versus the Sri Lankans and will be looking to perform well in the longer format of the game. This time they will be up against experienced players but will be backed up by senior Indian players. The England players will have the home advantage and will use it to baffle the Indians. James Anderson and Stuart will spearhead the bowling attack and will be a force to reckon with. Anderson’s swing can be devastating at times and can disarm the batting force. Umesh Yadav is back on the squad and will try to inflict damage on the English soil along with Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
Pujara has lately been criticised for his strike rate most recently in the World Test Championship final against New Zealand. But he has the calibre and patience to let his bat talk and deliver. He has been the backbone of the test team many times, standing strong against tough conditions.
Here are five Indian Players to look out for:
1) Ravichandran Ashwin- Ashwin was named man of the match in the last India versus England series that happened earlier this year. This time around the all rounder might not have much help from the conditions but will still be very crucial for India. Ashwin’s overseas record was never impressive before 2018. Ashwin had played nine test matches in SENA countries before 2018 and managed to scalp 24 wickets. After 2018 the off spinner has racked up 48 wickets in 12 Test matches in SENA countries although an overseas five wicket haul is still missing from his record book. Ashwin was the pick of bowlers in the three tests he played in Australia last time around. Although his record in England has not been the best, a series of matches in county cricket will surely work in his favour to change that. Ashwin also picked up five wickets in the WTC final against New Zealand which is another sign of things to come. The Tamil Nadu stalwart is also just five wickets away from overtaking Harbhajan Singh to become India’s third highest wicket taker with only Anil Kumble and Kapil Dev.
2) Mohammed Siraj- Siraj burst onto the scene in the Border Gavaskar trophy. The pacer made his debut in the second test match and instantly showed signs of greatness. Siraj ended the series as India’s highest wicket-taker with 13 wickets including an astonishing five-wicket haul in the second innings of the legendary Brisbane test. Despite the success in Australia the Hyderabad seamer was left out of the WTC final against New Zealand in favour of an experienced bowling attack. Siraj might not be the first name on the team sheet yet but if given a chance could prove to be very effective in typical English conditions. Siraj’s ability to hit the deck hard consistently and generate the odd swing makes him a tough player to keep on the bench for too long.
3) KL Rahul- KL Rahul has been handed a golden opportunity of a comeback in the Test team. KL was India’s opener in the 2018 away season but was subsequently dropped from the side after poor performances in England and Australia. After good performances in the shorter formats and especially in the IPL Rahul was brought back in the red ball squad for the Australia tour. His return to the side caused a lot of debates with former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar saying that his comeback sends a wrong message and demotivates Ranji Players. The Wicketkeeper expectedly didn’t play a single game and to make matters worse sustained an injury before the final test. Rahul scored an impressive hundred in the warm-up game against the county 11 in which he batted in the middle order and also kept wickets. With Shubham Gill ruled out of the series and Mayank Agarwal out of contention for the first test due to a head injury KL Rahul might have to open the batting. In his last match in England, Rahul scored a 4th innings hundred at the Oval. The series will be a great opportunity for the Banglore Batter to cement his place in all three formats of the game for years to come whether it is as an opener or in the middle order is a big question.
4) Virat Kohli- It’s difficult to not include Virat Kohli in this list for various reasons. The most prominent being his unbelievable performance in this very series three years ago. The Indian captain scored 593 runs scoring two centuries in the process in 2018 and was awarded the man of the series. Kohli hasn’t scored an International ton since his 136 in November 2019 against Bangladesh. The Indian skipper will be very keen to end his century drought and what better stage to do it. Apart from his captaincy, Kohli’s performance with the bat will be very key from India’s point of view. If India do decide to go for six pure batsmen as they have been doing recently then the pressure on each batter will increase and Kohli will have to step up for India to win.
5) Shardul Thakur- The Indian squad is very well balanced in all departments. The only thing missing is a fast-bowling all-rounder. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya missing from the squad leaves a big hole in the setup, especially while touring England. Shardul Thakur has shown incredible signs of having the potential to fill that hole. The pacer made his Test debut back in 2018 against West Indies but got injured after bowling ten balls. Thakur was part of the T20I and ODI squad for the Australia tour but stayed back for the test series to act as a net bowler. He along with T. Natarajan and Washington Sundar was handed a golden opportunity to play the last test after unexpected injuries to players. Shardul grabbed that opportunity by picking up 7 crucial wickets at the Gabba but his most valuable contribution came with the bat as Thakur played a fiery first innings knock of 67 runs. His aggressiveness with the ball and firepower with the bat could be India’s wild card in the series. Thakur might be down the current squad’s pecking order in terms of bowling but his prowess with the bat makes him a valuable asset considering the much highlighted weakness of the Indian tailenders.
Also read: India Vs England series, youngsters waiting to shine
Here are five England players to look out for:
1) Ollie Robinson- Ollie Robinson made an incredible test debut just a couple of months ago in the first test against New Zealand. The pacer took seven wickets and then got caught in a wave of controversy when his old racist and sexist tweets caught attention. Robinson later apologised but received a suspension and missed the second test. After an investigation, Robinson’s suspension was lifted and he was named in the squad for this series. With the absence of Jofra Archer, Robinson is the perfect candidate as a third quick bowler along with Broad and Anderson. His ability with the bat is an added advantage against a side like India. Robinson’s ability to consistently seam swing the ball is something which might be difficult for the Indian’s to deal with.
2) Sam Curran- After the recent withdrawal of Ben Stokes, Sam Curran’s importance in this England team has become much more than what it was before. Curran's ability with the ball and the bat makes him an almost perfect replacement for Ben Stokes. Curran’s swinging balls caused India a lot of trouble last time around and the Surrey all rounder will be looking to have the same impact but this time with added contributions with the bat. Sam Curran who is still only 23 years of age has already stamped his authority on the international stage. Curran will be very crucial for England in this series with the conditions massively favouring a bowler with his particular set of skills.
3) Stuart Broad- Stuart Broad along with his partner Jimmy Anderson will lead the English troops in the series. While Anderson is at the back end of his career Broad still has a few years left in him. The Nottinghamshire bowler like every other pacer did not have any tangible impact in India but this time around Broad will have a lot of pressure to deliver results. The pacer will be keen to have a massive impact after an average performance against New Zealand.
4) Joe Root- The England captain will have a lot of burden as a batsman in this series. The English batsmen have been very disappointing in the post covid era. Joe Root single handedly won the series for his side in Srilanka and tried his best to do the same in India. Root is the only batsman in the current squad who has consistently scored runs. He was another player whose performance was below par against New Zealand. There is no denying the fact that Joe Root’s performance will determine whether England manage to get the better of India.
5) Jos Buttler- Jos Buttler was England’s highest run-scorer in the 2018 series against India and will be equally important this time around if not more. Butler was rested after playing the first match of the tour of India and hasn’t played a test match ever since. The gloveman has been in good form in the limited-overs format throughout. Buttler’s absence was clearly felt in the New Zealand series. With his ability to counterattack and bat aggressively Buttler can win matches single-handedly. Whether he keeps wickets instead of Johnny Bairstow remains to be seen but Butter's batting ability is more than enough to make him one of the first names in the playing XI.
