Former India manager Lalchand Rajput has said that it is Virat Kohli's batting against the swing and seam of James Anderson and Stuart Broad that will play a decisive role in the five-match Test series and that getting off to a start with the bat against the moving ball will be very crucial for Indian Captain. 

Virat had a poor tour to England last time in 2014 and there are people out there who still doubt his credentials against the lateral movement in the air and off the pitch but Rajput disagrees. He was recently quoted telling PTI as, "Virat is a very aggressive player, he wants to be in the forefront and wants to lead from the front. Everyone's eyes will be on Virat, how will he perform, because the last one was a disastrous tour for him, He is four years matured now. He knows his game much better than earlier. I would go one step ahead, (James) Anderson and (Stuart) Broad are four-years older what they were four years back, the same pace wouldn't be there, but in England, they will be handy too as they swing the ball well," 

Rajput, who is now the interim head coach of Zimbabwe, further added, "Virat has worked on his game a lot. He is in tremendous nick and I am sure he would like to start on a big one, first Test is very important, how he gets on. The first 20 runs will be very crucial for Virat, if he gets those 20 runs, then he will not look back."

"Because he (Virat) wants to make a name for himself, because people are talking that he had a disastrous series, but that's gone and dusted. This is a new series, he wants to prove himself. Last couple of years his conversion rate is terrific, he has got lot of 100s, he has won lot of matches and he would like to prove it in England," added Rajput, who briefly played for India."

(Inputs from firstpost.com)