India will look to win their first Test series in England since 2007. They would also be wanting leave behind the disappointment of losing the World Test Championship final.
India’s tour of England will kick off on Wednesday from the Trent Bridge Cricket Grond in Nottingham. India will look to win their first Test series in England since 2007. They would also be wanting leave behind the disappointment of losing the World Test Championship final. However, their task would not be an easy one as India have found it difficult to get the better of the hosts in England.
Team India have a lot of great pacers in the line-up and a lot depends on their performance. But it is the batsmen that have been India’s weak-link in overseas Tests in recent years. Indian batsmen have struggled to get the runs in pacer-friendly conditions and it was visible during the WTC final against New Zealand.
Former India batsman Aakash Chopra also feels that batting is India’s weakness and thinks KL Rahul might get a chance to play in the middle-order.
“KL Rahul has the experience of playing in English conditions. He has scored a Test hundred in England and got one in the warm-up match as well. He is now playing as a middle-order batsman. He can definitely get a chance. There is an opening in the middle-order, which is why Shaw and Surya (Suryakumar Yadav) have been added to the squad.”
“Team India have weaknesses in the batting. Abhimanyu Easwaran apparently doesn’t seem in good form. The opening pair of Mayank Agarwal and Rohit Sharma are yet to prove themselves in overseas conditions. One is not sure about Hanuma Vihari’s consistency with the bat. So looking at all the factors, KL Rahul can definitely get a look-in. I think he can play as an opener also but as of now it seems he will bat in the middle-order, if he plays.”
The first Test between India and England will be played from August 4 and August 8.