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India are set to face one of their biggest bilateral assignments in recent years in a couple of days’ time with the five-match Test series against England set to commence from Thursday, 25 January in Hyderabad.
The Indian team hasn’t been too successful when it comes to ICC tournaments, having last won a major global trophy more than a decade ago. However, they’ve maintained an enviable record in bilateral assignments at home over the years, losing just one Test series in their own backyard for more than two decades.
The current English team, however, are a different entity and pose perhaps the biggest challenge to India’s home dominance in a long time. This, after all, is a team that is yet to lose a Test series since Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum took over as captain and head coach respectively in the Test format, ushering in the ‘Bazball’ Era that has revolutionised the red-ball format.
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However, it won’t just be Stokes and Co’s attacking approach to the red-ball format that will be a challenge for the Indian team in the upcoming series that is set to run till March. According to former India left-arm spinner Venkatapathy Raju, preparing turning tracks in the upcoming series won’t just be a challenge for the visitors, but for home batters as well.
“India has been quite a strong team at home. Very rarely they lose. Whatever advantage they have they always take that. It goes down to how you prepare yourself, whether they’re going to give you turners or not. If you see nowadays, our fast bowlers have been doing really well and Indian team is doing really well on fast tracks. The latest one where we beat South Africa in two days,” Raju told Firstpost in an exclusive chat ahead of the Test series.
“It (turning tracks) will be a challenge for Indian batters also, because we already saw in the final when the wicket was slow, they struggled a bit. They’re not playing much on turning tracks in domestic cricket. International players are also playing more outside the country, whether 50-over games or Test matches, they are playing on different wickets and hardly get the time to play domestic cricket on turners.
“If it is a turner, it will be a challenge for Indian batters also,” Raju added.
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As for the ‘Bazball’ tactics themselves, Raju felt that setting fields for English batters who are likely to take the aggressive route from the word ‘go’ is going to be a major headache for India skipper Rohit Sharma. Especially since there will be a lot of reverse-sweeps being played by their batters.
“What England is doing, whatever happens, they’re still playing reverse-sweep. They thought if they don’t get out, it’s become a main thing for them. More than the normal sweep, they’re playing reverse sweep. It’s a challenge because field placements. Field placements are going to be very, very crucial for Indian team now.”
Raju, however, felt that facing the Indian spinners on turning tracks will be difficult for the English batters who are playing in this part of the world for the first time. The former Hyderabad bowler also said that England’s 3-0 sweep of the Test series in Pakistan in the 2022-23 season would have little bearing on this series, as the conditions were very different in Pakistan.
“If you’re playing for the first time in India, the English team will find it very difficult.
“The same England team did well in Pakistan, but Pakistan wickets were not rank turners, they were black soil. Flat. They (Pakistan) struggled because these guys were quick. And I think Pakistan were playing after a long, long time, so they struggled,” Raju, who played 28 Tests and 53 ODIs in an international career spanning 11 years, added.
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Raju believes Rohit Sharma and veteran England batter and former captain Joe Root as key individuals.
“For me it’s going to be Rohit, because he plays with the new ball, then after that he attacks. Rohit is going to be the main guy.
Raju singled out Joe Root as the player who could have the biggest impact on England’s fortunes in the India Test series. Sportzpics“(For) England, it’s going to be Joe Root. Joe Root is very important because all the other guys who come they will be trying to play aggressive. He was not successful the last time, but his record in the subcontinent has been brilliant. He should be the one who’ll make the difference.
“Joe Root vs Ashwin and Jadeja will be the key battle in the series. But then when it comes to red-ball cricket, Bumrah and Siraj have been very successful. The lines that they bowl is totally different. Even if it’s a turner, you still need those breakthroughs from fast bowlers. New batter who comes in when the score of 30/2 or 30/3, they will find it difficult to face spinners straight away,” Raju, who faced the Graham Gooch-led English team at home in 1993, added.
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As for the upcoming series, Raju added that the first Test at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, which will be hosting a five-day fixture after a long time, will set the tone for the remainder of the series.
“It’s not going to be a one-sided series. The first Test match will set the tone for both teams. We’ll know exactly what the strengths are for both teams. Advantage (for India) is that England has got only one experienced spinner, but they might use Joe Root also as a spinner because he looks more effective. Remember those wickets he took in Ahmedabad,” Raju added.
The matches in the upcoming series will be taking place outside India’s traditional Test centres, with Visakhapatnam, Rajkot, Ranchi and Dharamsala hosting the Tests besides Hyderabad. The series gets underway in January and is set to run till 11 March, making it India’s final assignment before the Indian Premier League (IPL), which will be followed by the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the USA, gets underway.
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