Former Zimbabwe cricketer and England coach Andy Flower feels that upcoming series against India will be much difficult for England than it was eight years ago and said that England's chances will depend on if Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler bat-like the way Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen did in 2012.
England cricket team after thumping Sri Lanka in a two-match Test series arrived in India for a long tour starting from the first week of February. They are scheduled to play 4 Tests, 3 ODIs and 5 T20Is against the hosts.
England managed to win a Test series in India 2-1 in 2012 with Andy Flower as coach. skipper Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen, who scored 562 and 338 runs respectively, had a great time with the bat which made it easy for England to put pressure onto India and clinch the series.
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However, Team India is coming off a historic series win in Australia and will be high on confidence which will make it an even bigger challenge for England.
Weighing on the same Andy Flower said that India will be more confident after that win in Australia.
"It’s one thing going to Australia and trying to win but a four-match series in India is challenging in a very different way and I think it’s going to be tougher for England now than it was for us. India will be more confident after that win in Australia and they’re also a more confident nation now about their standing in world cricket," Andy Flower told Daily Mail.
Flower believes that Joe Root will be key to England success and urged him to bat the way Alastair Cook did in 2012.
"Joe should be the rock around which we can build big innings, like Cook was in our team. He’s our most skillful player of spin and can combine a really nice, soft defence with the alternating of strike and occasionally jumping out of his bubble and scoring boundaries," he said.
Flower also wants Ben Stokes and Jos Butter to recreate what Kevin Pietersen did in 2012.
"Then we need guys like Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes to come to the party with a more pro-active game, a bit like Kevin Pietersen did in 2012. Where Root might be playing at a certain tempo, those guys can up it and really put pressure on the opposition spinners." said Andy Flower.
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Andy Flower, 52, recalled how Root made his debut in Nagpur in 2012, and said he was confident for Root doing well in international cricket.
"No one knew how he would respond to the pressure but if I’d been putting a couple of quid on it, I’d have bet on him doing outstandingly well in international cricket.Straight away I could see he had a very good method against spin, picked length well and had a good defence," he said.
Flower revealed that he always saw a captain's material in Root and said he had great knowledge and understanding of the game.
"I did think I saw a guy back then who could go on to lead —absolutely. I thought Joe had a nice blend of perspective, knowledge and understanding of the game. He also had a popularity among the players. Even as a young guy who liked messing around a little he had the respect of people around him. He clearly had qualities that could make him a future captain." he concluded.
The last time England toured India in 2016, the visitors suffered a humiliating a 4-0 loss in the five-Test series.
(Daily Mail Inputs)
