India and England will lock horns in a four-match Test series that begins on February 5th. Team India is returning from a successful tour of Australia after beating the hosts in the test series as well as the T20 series. India will be boosted by the return of Virat Kohli and Ishant Sharma to the line-up. However, India will be wary of the threat provided by the England team.
England have Joe Root, Jos Buttler, and Ben Stokes in the team and they have the ability to turn the game in their favour single-handedly. Former England coach Andy Flower is one of the few foreign coaches who has experience of winning a Test series in India. He talked about one player who impressed the team management on that tour and showed leadership qualities.
Flower was impressed by Root in the 2012 series as he had seen qualities of a future captain in him.
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‘I thought Joe had a nice blend of perspective, knowledge and understanding of the game,
‘He also had a popularity among the players. Even as a young guy who liked messing around a little he had the respect of people around him. He clearly had qualities that could make him a future captain.’
{{/usCountry}}‘He also had a popularity among the players. Even as a young guy who liked messing around a little he had the respect of people around him. He clearly had qualities that could make him a future captain.’
{{/usCountry}}Flower also feels Root’s performance will be key for England on the upcoming tour of India.
"It’s one thing going to Australia and trying to win but a four-match series in India is challenging in a very different way and I think it’s going to be tougher for England now than it was for us. India will be more confident after that win in Australia and they’re also a more confident nation now about their standing in world cricket.
"Joe should be the rock around which we can build big innings, like Cook was in our team,’ said the former England coach. ‘He’s our most skilful player of spin and can combine a really nice, soft defence with the alternating of strike and occasionally jumping out of his bubble and scoring boundaries.
"Then we need guys like Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes to come to the party with a more pro-active game, a bit like Kevin Pietersen did in 2012. Where Root might be playing at a certain tempo, those guys can up it and really put pressure on the opposition spinners," Flowed said.