Undoubtedly, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin pose major threats to England in the upcoming series. Kohli with the bat and Ashwin with the ball.
But the visiting England side is not preparing for just these two stars in the Indian camp. Coach Trevor Bayliss, who has usually been seen as a very serious coach with hardly a smile on his lips, was at his witty best when he was asked on Saturday who among Ashwin or Kohli would his team target in the series.
“If Kohli is bowling, that would be different,” the Australian Bayliss said before bursting into laugher. He settled down to a serious answer: “They are both very good players. If we concentrate on just two of their players, that will probably be the wrong way to go. They have got more than two very good players. We have got to concentrate on how we approach and how we go about our cricket. That has been our best approach over the last couple years. We worry about what we are doing but obviously there are a number of good players in the Indian team that we have got to look at and make sure we bat and bowl well against all of those players. We are here to play cricket and we are here to win cricket matches. Any competitive, young blooded male or person playing in a Test want to win and that takes over everything.”
England captain and opener Alastair Cook has had nine different opening partners in Tests since Andrew Strauss retired in 2012. And among them is Ben Duckett, who did not fulfil the expectations in his debut series in Bangladesh recently.
Cook and England coach Trevor Bayliss are in the process of taking some selection calls to go into the first Test in Rajkot with their best combination. In all likelihood, 19-year-old Haseeb Hameed could be Cook’s 10th opening partner next week.
England’s ODI wicket-keeper Jos Buttler could be another option. Coach Trevor Bayliss said on Saturday after England’s two-day practice sessions at the Brabourne Stadium: “He (Buttler) is as close as anyone else in the squad. We have two or three options in the batting order that we can take and certainly he has been in discussions along with Hameed as well. So, we are not going to make any judgements right now. We are going to wait until we get to Rajkot, have a look, see how they bat in the nets and see how they are looking.”
Bayliss was also pleased with James Anderson passing fitness ahead of expected and joining the tour part ahead of schedule. “To get anyone back with that experience and the amount of wickets will be good for everyone in the squad. Him being able to talk to younger bowlers about his experiences and how to bowl in these conditions will be of immense help,” the 53-year-old Bayliss said.
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