The five-match Test series between India and England will begin on January 25, Thursday at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. The England players are undergoing a training camp in Abu Dhabi, gearing up to challenge the Indian players on their home soil. England’s premier pacer James Anderson believes that his side might be forced into playing with two spinners in the upcoming five-Test series as they look to counter the spin-friendly conditions in India. England has picked up four specialist spinners in their squad namely Jack Leach, Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, and Shoaib Bashir. Leach is the only one to have played a Test match in India.
The spinners will be receiving advice from their pacers Anderson, Ollie Robinson, and Mark Wood, who have Test-playing experience in India. Only four seamers are going to India, so we will not be expecting to bowl a huge amount of seam. It is just a slightly different role, Anderson said. You might not bowl the overs you do in England, but they are still important. It probably puts more importance on spells you do bowl. These are the things we will pass on to the guys, the right-arm pacer added.
Reverse swing will play a big part. There might be occasions where we don’t open with a seamer. We might open with two spinners, Anderson stated. The 41-year-old pacer has a solid record in India, having taken 39 wickets. Although he did not perform well during the Ashes last year, he still feels he has something to contribute to the team.
The training I have done this winter, I feel like age is just a number. People will always look at my age when it comes up on the screen when I come on to bowl, but for me, it is irrelevant. It is how you feel as a cricketer, and I know I can still dive around in the field and put a shift in with the ball just like I have done for the last 20 years, Anderson expressed.
I feel the last five to six years have been the best of my career. Although the Ashes did not go as well as I wanted it to, there have been many series when I have not bowled well throughout my career, and it is just a case of putting in the hard work to make sure it doesn’t happen again, he concluded. England last won a Test series in India in 2012-13, while their previous tour in 2021 saw them lose the series 3-1.
