Former England spinner Monty Panesar chose the three key players for the Indian team as it prepares for the upcoming Test series against Joe Root's side.
Former England spinner Monty Panesar has named the three key players from India and England who can make a significant impact in the upcoming four-match Test series. The series will begin on February 5, with the first two Tests taking place in Chennai.
Panesar, who was a part of England's winning Test side in its 2012/13 tour of India, chose the English team's veteran pace duo of Stuart Broad, James Anderson and Joe Root as its three-member core which needs to step up in the upcoming series.
“I think the key players for England are going to be Joe Root, Stuart Broad, and Jimmy Anderson. Joe knows how to bat in these conditions and he's in tremendous form. He will have to emulate what Alastair Cook did in India. Joe needs to bat for long because only then he can set up the game for England against India," Panesar told the Times of India.
“Also, under seaming conditions, Broad and Anderson can do wonders. Anderson never bowls at the stumps. He always bowls 4 or 5 feet away from a batsman. He wants you to chase him and then he brings it back in to trap a batsman LBW. If the Indian batsmen can actually conquer that line, Anderson and Broad are both going to struggle,” said the former England spinner.
However, Panesar picked neither Indian captain Virat Kohli nor the side's premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah as the three key members for the Indian team in the Tests.
“For India, it is going to be Ajinkya Rahane. His batting, captaincy, and leadership skills have impressed me a lot," Panesar said.
"Second, Pujara. He's able to sustain the pressure.
"I think Ashwin is going to be a key player for India in the series. He can take wickets over the wicket and around the wicket. He's got different variations and he's a very astute cricketer. I remember him saying 'spin bowling is like an app, you got to keep updating every six months'. And, he does that and keeps updating. I love the way he's become such an unbelievable spinner," Panesar said.
Both, India and England meet after favourable results in their respective away assignments. While India registered an incredible 2-1 victory over Australia in the four-match Test series, England completed a 2-0 clean sweep of Sri Lanka.
