England cricket team has arrived in Mumbai today to play a five-match Test series aginst India which will start from 9 November. England lost their last Test against Bangladesh at Dhaka. Their batsmen failed to play Bangladesh’s spinners as Cook’s men lost all ten wickets for just 64 runs.
Now, India’s pitches are a big threat to them. Though, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid, two spinners are there to take the challenge in spin-friendly sub-continent conditions. But, Former Australian pace spearhead Jason Gillespie thinks that Ben Stokes can be key for England in the upcoming test series against India.
“I think Ben Stokes can be the game-changer for England. He is renowned for reverse swing and bowls at pace, as was evident in Bangladesh.” Gillespie said. He believes Stokes can bat well in this type of track.“He can cause India some problems not only with the ball but also with his aggressive batting. England will certainly miss James Anderson, who can be lethal with the new and old ball. Woakes too can have an impact and is dangerous when he bowls close to the batsmen.” he added.
According to Gillespie, the reverse swing will be key in the sub-continent conditions. “Everyone assumes conditions here suit slow bowlers, the mindset has to change. There are options to take wickets as a pacer. You have to adjust the length. I think it also goes down to how the pacers are rotated in these hot conditions,” The 41-year old told.
Gillespie advised England bowlers to use the cutters prodigiously in India, that the cross-seam deliveries were a good option to possess in a fast bowler’s repertoire for conditions in India. “The cross-seam cutters can behave differently. In India, as a paceman, you have to think laterally. It’s neither going to swing nor seam; hold the ball across and bowl cutters, wobble the seam a bit, use the width of the crease,” he said.“Maintain your discipline and keep hitting a specific spot on the wicket of a shoe size and try to create indecision in the batsmen’s mind.”
The former Aussie pacer praised Indian batsmen especially Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara. “Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara. The former has a vast array of shots, a good mindset and would put the scoreboard pressure back on the bowler, while the latter is hard to dislodge and waits for a bowler’s third and fourth spell,” he said.