Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir doesn’t see England team winning any Test matches in the upcoming four-match series with the spin bowlers it has.
Spinners in the England team are Moeen Ali, Dom Bess and Jack Leach. While Ali is an experienced bowler with 181 wickets from 60 Tests, the other two have played only 12 Test games each and have taken only 31 and 44 wickets respectively.
“I don’t see England winning any of the Test matches with the kind of spin attack they’ve got,” said Gautam Gambhir in the Star Sports show ‘Game Plan’.
“It has to be 3-0 India or probably 3-1. I’m only going to give a Pink Ball Test match, probably 50-50 to England just from the conditions point of view,” added the 39-year old.
When talking about the England captain Joe Root, who had done well in Sri Lanka in the two-match series and took his side to victory, the former Indian cricketer said it would be a different challenge in India.
“This is going to be a completely different challenge for someone like Joe Root,” Gambhir said.
“Yes, he has played really well in Sri Lanka, but when you face people like Jasprit Bumrah on any wicket, or for that matter, R Ashwin, when his confidence is sky-high after what he has done in Australia, I am sure it is going to be a completely different beast and a completely different ball game.”
Gambhir stated that he had never questioned Virat Kohli’s captaincy in Test and ODIs but has problems with his leadership in T20Is.
“Time and times again! Yes, Virat Kohli is the leader, but I’m sure he gotta be as happy as the rest of the squad as well, but at the same time, yes, he has done really well in Test cricket,” said Gambhir.
“I’ve always had question marks on his T20 captaincy. Never had question marks on his (Kohli’s) 50-over or his Test match captaincy. India has done really well under his leadership, especially in red-ball cricket and I’m sure, India will continue to grow further, under his leadership, especially in red-ball cricket,” added the former Indian cricketer.
After missing three Tests in Australia recently, Virat Kohli would have something to prove as India captain in the four-match Test series against England.
