As India prepares to play a formidable England team in a five-match Test series in the UK, some pundits are dismissing them, but former Australia batsman Matthew Hayden believes Shubman Gill and company have a decent chance of overwhelming the hosts.
With the recent retirements of red-ball format mainstays Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin, India is going through a transitional phase. Mohammed Shami, a seasoned bowler, has also been excluded because of fitness issues. The 25-year-old Shubman is the star of the Asian giants’ relatively inexperienced 18-man lineup for the England series.
The experts anticipate that India will defeat England since they would be playing without a few of their veterans. However, Matthew Hayden believes that if India wins the Test matches in the difficult Leeds and Manchester conditions, they can disprove the sceptics.
I don’t think England’s bowlers are particularly excellent; they have a lot of retirees and injuries, so that will be a problem.
When it’s flying about, the northern Test matches will be crucial; if you win that one, India might win the series,” Matthew Hayden stated on JioHotstar.
Pacers Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, and Gus Atkinson have not been selected in England’s 14-man squad for the first Test, which starts on Friday, June 20 at Headingley, Leeds, indicating the team’s injury woes.
In addition, Wood is putting in a lot of effort behind the scenes after knee surgery, so he might miss at least the first three Test matches. However, Archer is recuperating from a thumb injury and might return to the team for the second Test. Atkinson is now recovering from a hamstring injury, and there is no precise word on when he will return.
The five pacers selected by England for the Headingley Test are Josh Tongue, Sam Cook, Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, and Jamie Overton. Joe Root and Jacob Bethell can roll their arms over if needed, but Shoaib Bashir is the only specialist spinner in the squad.
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