England opener Ben Duckett is once again in the headlines as he spoke about the Indian team and the effect of Jasprit Bumrah in the upcoming five-Test series between the two sides in June-August 2025. This will mark the start of the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle 2025-27 for both teams.

India has been England 19 times since their first visit in 1932 but has only won three series there, the last in 2007. In 2021, the Virat Kohli-led side took a commanding 2-1 lead after the first four games of the tour, however,the fifth and final match was called off due to a Covid outbreak in the Indian camp.

The match was rescheduled for a year later in Birmingham, where England prevailed to deny India a historic series victory. Ben Duckett predicted a similar fate for India in the 2025 series.

"India at home is very different to India away. It's a side I feel we should beat and we can beat. It'll be a good series," Duckett told Mail Sport.

Duckett also discussed the difficulty of facing Jasprit Bumrah, stating that he is no longer surprised by him and that he is capable of taking on both the India star and Mohammad Shami.

"I've faced him in a five-Test series before. I know what he's going to do to me, and the good thing about that is I know what skills he has. There's going to be nothing that surprises me. It's going to be challenging, and the red-ball skills of Mohammed Shami are just as threatening as Bumrah. But if I can get through that opening spell, I feel there are runs to be had,” Duckett said.

Bumrah and Duckett faced off when England toured India in early 2024. Bumrah starred with 19 wickets at 16.89, but dismissed Duckett just once, that too after he had made 47 runs in that game. On the other hand, Duckett had an excellent series, scoring 343 runs.

On the other hand, he faced Shami back in 2016/17, where he scored just 18 runs against the right-armer without getting dismissed.