NEW DELHI: The five-Test series between India and England begins in Hyderabad on January 25. Former left-arm fast bowler Zaheer Khan expressed his excitement about watching the visitors maintain their attacking style of play, known as "Bazball," in the sub-continental climate.
India have emerged victorious in 16 consecutive Test series at home ever since they lost 1-2 to England in 2012. "You don't often see a five-Test series taking place these days. Bazball will remain in focus, and we'll see whether England's approach will remain the same. The kind of pitches that we'll be playing on will also be another point of discussion for sure. But both teams will be eager to prove their supremacy," said Zaheer to JioCinema.
Former left-arm spinner for India, Pragyan Ojha, thinks the Bazball strategy is ineffective in India because it is difficult to apply against a strong Indian spin line-up. "Bazball involves playing fearless cricket and England tries to gain a psychological edge using this strategy. Executing Bazball will be difficult in India because it won't be easy to play the Indian spinners or for that matter Jasprit Bumrah and the other pace bowlers," he said.
1/10:Top 10: Highest run-scorers in India-England Tests
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2/10:Sachin Tendulkar
<p>The great Sachin Tendulkar is the highest run-scorer in Test matches between India and England with 2535 runs in 32 matches at an average of 51.73 with 7 hundreds. </p>TNN
3/10:Joe Root
<p>Former England captain Joe Root is second in the list with 2526 runs in 25 matches at an average of 63.15 with 9 hundreds.</p>Getty Images
4/10:Sunil Gavaskar
<p>The legendary Sunil Gavaskar comes next with 2483 runs in 38 matches at an average of 38.20 with 4 hundreds.</p>Getty Images
5/10:Alastair Cook
<p>Former England captain Alastair Cook scored 2431 runs in 30 matches at an average of 47.66 with 7 centuries.</p>Getty Images
6/10:Virat Kohli
<p>With 1991 runs from 28 matches at an average of 42.36 and 5 hundreds, India run-machine Virat Kohli comes next in the list.</p>Getty Images
7/10:Rahul Dravid
<p>Batting legend and present India head coach Rahul Dravid comes next with 1950 runs in 21 matches at an average of 60.93 with 7 hundreds.</p>Getty Images
8/10:Gundappa Viswanath
<p>The great Gundappa Viswanath comes next with 1880 runs from 30 matches at an average of 37.60 with 4 centuries.</p>Getty Images
9/10:Cheteshwar Pujara
<p>Cheteshwar Pujara has scored 1778 runs from 27 matches at an average of 39.51 with 5 hundreds.</p>Getty Images
10/10:Graham Gooch
<p>Graham Gooch comes next with 1725 runs from 19 matches at an average of 55.64 with 5 centuries. </p>Getty ImagesOjha wants to see if the Ben Stokes-led team have backup plans available in case the Bazball method backfires, even after England defeated Pakistan 3-0 in their backyard in 2022. "I feel England will be very confident with the strategy they have adopted. But they need a back-up plan. Because the conditions won't be like what they were in Pakistan."
"The wickets were slightly better and favoured the batsmen. Here, the conditions will favour the spinners. So how they tackle this will be very important. Their performance in the first Test will set the tone of the series."
Former India wicketkeeper-batter Parthiv Patel thinks that because of the spinning conditions, India will aim for a clean sweep to improve their position in the World Test Championship table, and England's Bazball strategy will fail. "I think the Indian team will aim for 5-0. I think they need a 4-0 win to get to the top of the WTC standings. Looking at the last cycle, India won a lot of overseas Tests. I don't think India need to change their approach."
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2/10:James Anderson
<p>Veteran England fast bowler James Anderson leads the list with 139 wickets in 35 Test matches against India with a best of 5/20 and an average of 24.89.</p>Getty Images
3/10:Bhagwath Chandrasekhar
<p>Former leg-spin great Bhagwath Chandrasekhar took 95 wickets in 23 Tests against England with a best of 8/79 and an average of 27.27. </p>Getty Images
4/10:Anil Kumble
<p>Leg-break genius Anil Kumble comes next with 92 wickets from 19 Tests with a best of 7/115 and an average of 30.59. </p>TNN
5/10:Ravichandran Ashwin
<p>Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has taken 88 wickets from 19 Tests with a best of 6/55 and an average of 28.59. </p>Getty Images
6/10:Bishan Singh Bedi
<p>The late Bishan Singh Bedi is next in the list with 85 scalps from 22 Tests with a best of 6/71 and an average of 29.87. </p>Getty Images
7/10:Kapil Dev
<p>India's greatest fast bowler ever Kapil Dev comes next with 85 wickets in 27 Tests with a best of 6/91 and an average of 37.34. </p>Getty Images
8/10:Stuart Broad
<p>Veteran England pacer Stuart Broad has taken 74 wickets in 24 Tests with a best of 6/25 and an average of 28.51.</p>Getty Images
9/10:Ishant Sharma
<p>Ishant Sharma comes next with 67 wickets in 23 Tests with a best of 7/74 and an average of 32.40. </p>Getty Images
10/10:Bob Willis
<p>The late Bob Willis took 62 wickets from 17 Tests with a best of 6/53 and an average of 23.24. </p>Getty Images"It's the visiting teams that have to come up with different strategies. It remains to be seen whether Bazball will work here or not. If the ball spins, I don't think it will work here because there's too much quality in India's spin attack that includes Ashwin, Jadeja, Axar and Kuldeep."
The upcoming India-England Test series will begin from Hyderabad on January 25, followed by other matches at Visakhapatnam (February 2-6), Rajkot (February 15-19), Ranchi (February 23-27) and Dharamsala (March 7-11).
Patel also feels toss and first-innings runs will play a crucial role in the series. "I think every venue will have its own character. We may see similar tracks in Hyderabad and Vizag. In Rajkot, if they prepare a good wicket, we may see a lot of runs being scored."
"Their fast bowlers can hope to get some help in Dharamsala. At every venue, how many runs they get in the first innings, will be crucial. Winning the toss too will be crucial for them. If they lose the toss, it will be very difficult for them to come back," he concluded.
(With IANS inputs)
