Malan also opened up about his approach on his Test comeback against India.
Ahead of the third Test at Headingley from Wednesday (August 25), England batsman Dawid Malan hailed India as the “fantastic competitors” while lauding their bowling attack that has left no stone unturned in troubling the hosts so far in the ongoing five-match Test series.
Malan, who has been recalled to England Test squad for the third Test against the Indian cricket team, said the “well-led” touring side has got the firepower to win Test matches in all conditions, thanks to their formidable pace bowling attack and Virat Kohli’s captaincy.
Speaking in the pre-match virtual press conference on Tuesday, Malan said of Team India: “I think they (India) are very well led; I think Virat (Kohli), the way he goes about his business, he is very infectious and you know he drags a lot of people with him.”
The left-hander further added, “They (India) have also got a lot of depth not only in their batting but in their bowling as well, they have got bowlers that can win Test cricket in all conditions. They just have a lot of depth and they are fantastic competitors.”
The 33-year-old has scored 724 runs from 15 Tests so far since making his England debut against South Africa in 2017. He last played a Test match against India at Birmingham in August 2018.
On being asked specifically whether he has a different approach, the comeback man said: “It is actually not something that I have done a lot in my career in red-ball cricket, I might have done it 25 or 30 times. I try and play the same way, however, I play. I try and defend late, I try and leave as far as I can and try and put the bad ball away and I don’t think that changes much in the position.”
He signed off by saying, “If they bowl me 30 good balls and I manage to survive those 30 good balls then hopefully in the next 30 you get some bad balls…I just walk and play the same way as I would be batting at four, where I have batted the majority of my career and hopefully what I have is good enough to succeed.”
(With PTI Inputs)