Former Zimbabwe captain Andy Flower has said that he would be surprised if England managed to beat India in India. The two sides are set to face each other in a five-match Test series.
IND vs ENG Test Series: Full Schedule
The first match of the series will be played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on January 25.
Speaking to Hindustan Times, Flower said he’d be surprised if England beat India in India, while praising India’s bowling attack. England will be aiming to win their first Test series in India since their 2-1 triumph in 2012/13.
“I am not doing prediction, but I would be surprised if England beat India in India. They are an outstanding and confident side in their own conditions, very well coached by Rahul Dravid. India has an outstanding attack. We talk a lot about their spinners, but their seamers are outstanding too and we must not underplay the danger they hold,” said Flower.
He went on to say that England’s success with Bazball surprised him, insisting that it will be a fascinating battle between the two sides in the Test series. England have adopted the Bazball approach, named after their Test coach and former New Zealand batter Brendon McCullum, where they play attacking cricket in Test matches.
“It has surprised me. It’s been great to watch. Even when I was involved with Australia during the last Ashes, I felt it was really interesting cricket. There’s a lot happening quite quickly. It’s going to be fascinating to watch the very interesting tussle between India’s class bowlers – both spinners and seamers, and the English batting line-up that is going to attack. I’m looking forward to it,” Flower added.
In a big turn of events, superstar batter Kohli opted out of the first two matches of the series citing personal reasons. According to the BCCI, a replacement for Kohli will be announced shortly, as India prepares to face England without one of their leading batters.
