Dale Steyn Predicts Outcome Of England vs India Test Series: "3-2 In Favour Of..."
Team India, under the leadership of a new captain in Shubman Gill, is gearing up for an upcoming five-match Test series against England, starting June 20 in Leeds. Following the Test retirements of stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, Gill was appointed captain last month, with Rishabh Pant set to be his deputy. The series marks the first Test for Gill as captain, having recently impressed with his leadership in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Gill and his men are currently taking part in a behind-closed-doors intra-squad match.
Ahead of the first Test in Headingley, Steyn has predicted the series to be a closely contested one, but he backed England to come out on top 3-2.
"All games will be close. But all will have a result. I think it will be 3-2 in favour of England. There will be a result in every Test match. There will be no run away win for any team, all five games will be very close," Steyn said on JioHotstar.
Reflecting on what would be his leadership approach in the Test series against England, Gill said, "Apart from all the silverware and trophies aside, I would ideally like to build a culture where everyone is very secure and happy."
"I know it can be a very difficult environment, especially with all the competition or the number of matches that we play and different squads coming in, but if I am able to do that, that would be my goal," he added.
The upcoming India tour of England marks a significant new chapter for Team India as a fresh squad prepares to take on one of cricket's most challenging assignments in English conditions. Historically, India's success in Test series on English soil has been rare, with the team having won a Test series in England only three times in the past 100 years.
These landmark victories came in 1971, 1986, and 2007, each time under the leadership of a new or first-time captain - Ajit Wadekar in 1971, Kapil Dev in 1986 and Rahul Dravid in 2007 - highlighting the pivotal role of new leadership in these historic triumphs.
India's Test squad for England series: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.
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