File photo of Rohit Sharma (left) and Ravichandran Ashwin.© BCCI
England are set to face India in a five-match series next year during the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle. The games will start in January and go till March 2024. While for India it will be an opportunity to grab valuable WTC points against a strong opponent, England too will be raring to showcase their ‘Bazball’ approach on the soil of one of the most successful Test teams in the world. Former England captain Nasser Hussain feels that the travelling side will face a stern challenge against Rohit Sharma and company in India.
“It’s the next test for Bazball. They said Bazball will work against one side, then they moved on to the next side. Then they moved on to New Zealand, Australia, Pakistan. The next challenge is India and everyone knows India in India is one of the sternest challenges in Test match cricket,” said Hussain on The ICC Review.
“It’s Bazball against spin. Bazball against Ravi Ashwin, (Ravindra) Jadeja and Axar Patel and that is going to be fascinating,” he added.
Meanwhile, Hussain backed veteran England pacer James Anderson to perform well in India. It is worth noting that Anderson’s long-time bowling partner Stuart Broad called time on his cricket career with the conclusion of the fifth Ashes Test in July. His absence will put more burden on Anderson, who was far from his best in the recently-concluded Test series against Australia.
“I think especially with (Stuart) Broad going, I would like that experience (in India),” Hussain said.
“Chris Woakes has stated that he’s not that keen anymore of playing away from home and his record’s not great away from home.
“We’ll see, he (Woakes) might change his mind. There’s been a lot of mind changes recently. But if you don’t have Woakes and you don’t have Broad, you will need that experience of someone like Jimmy Anderson.”
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