India aims to end 18-year series drought in England under new captain Shubman Gill

Fox Sports

6 hours ago

Associated Press
India has not won a test series on English soil since 2007.
A generation of cricket greats failed to take series honors on England's fabled fields, including the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Rishabh Pant.
They came closest on the last tour. India led 2-1 in 2021 but the pandemic forced the fifth and final test at Edgbaston to be postponed for 10 months to mid-2022, and India lost control of it with an ordinary second innings. The series was drawn.
India and England begin another five-test series for the rebranded Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy from Friday in Leeds.
So what makes India think it can win this time?
South Africa.
The Proteas' triumph in the World Test Championship final at Lord's last weekend should inspire all underdogs. A world-class bowling attack combined with a modest batting lineup gradually minimized their fear of failure and overcame a star-studded Australia.
India's team has bigger reputations than South Africa's but the comparison is apt for now because India is in transition after the retirements of past captains Kohli and Sharma, and former No. 1-ranked test bowler Ashwin.
The reins have been passed to Shubman Gill. He's 25 and yet to flourish as a test batter, with a 35 average. England white-ball star Jos Buttler, who played under Gill in the recent Indian Premier League, believes Gill's captaincy will be a mix of Kohli's in-your-face energy and Sharma's cool and calculating demeanor.
'He's pretty calm and measured when he speaks, but (it's) interesting, I feel like on the field he's got a bit of fight about him, a bit of intensity, quite passionate,' Buttler told the podcast For the Love of Cricket. Bumrah playing only three tests
Gill is overseeing a top-notch bowling attack but an untested batting lineup.
The top order is expected to roll out first-time England tourist Yashasvi Jaiswal, senior batter Lokesh Rahul, debutant Sai Sudharsan and Gill.
The middle order features Karun Nair — one of the great comeback stories — wicketkeeper Pant and ace spinner Jadeja. The tail has Shardul Thakur or Nitish Kumar Reddy as the fast bowling allrounder, Arshdeep Singh on debut or Prasidh Krishna as the third seamer, and Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah.
Nair debuted against England in late 2016 and in his third test he scored 303 not out, only the second Indian to achieve a triple century. But within three months he was axed, and according to him, without explanation. Sustained domestic excellence — a first-class average of nearly 50 — earned Nair a recall at age 33, and this month he warmed up with 204 for India A against England Lions.
Reddy played in India's most recent tests, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in January, but didn't bowl much in the IPL. Meanwhile, Thakur did. The latter hasn't played a test for 18 months but Thakur gave one last good audition by scoring a century against India in the intra-squad game last week in Beckenham.
Bumrah led the 2021 series with 23 wickets in five tests (Siraj had 18). But Bumrah is playing only three tests this time, and definitely Headingley, to keep his back healthy. Bumrah was favored to replace Sharma as captain but with limited availability, he ruled himself out of the job. Whichever three tests he plays, the world's best fast bowler will still be England's biggest threat. Pope or Bethell?
England's tag as the series favorite — home advantage, Joe Root — would be upgraded from marginal to overwhelming if its bowling arsenal wasn't so depleted.
Following the retirements of stalwarts James Anderson and Stuart Broad since India's last visit, England's fast bowling stocks have been in flux because of injuries.
Mark Wood was out for at least the first three India tests. Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson will miss the first test, then might be available. Meanwhile, three seamers who didn't play in the three-day test win against Zimbabwe last month were good to go.
Jamie Overton has overcome a broken finger during the recent white-ball tour by the West Indies to make the test squad for the first time in three years. Chris Woakes returned from a long-term ankle injury to take five wickets against India A, and Brydon Carse was recovered from a toe injury during the Champions Trophy in February.
The Zimbabwe result was more important than it looked for England. Captain Ben Stokes, in his first competitive outing since December, played a full role by bowling 11.2 overs and taking three wickets. And off-spinner Shoaib Bashir, unwanted by his county side, rewarded the faith in him from Stokes by taking a career-best nine-for.
The only question in the batting order is whether Jacob Bethell displaces Ollie Pope at No. 3. Bethell opted to miss the Zimbabwe test to win the IPL, while Pope scored 171 in the one-off test.
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