There is a lot of buzz surrounding around England’s upcoming Test tour to India, starting February 5 in Chennai.

Both the teams are coming into the series with historic triumphs away from home. While India defeated Australia 2-1 to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under, England whitewashed Sri Lanka 2-0 in their own backyard.

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Sharing his two cents on the forthcoming series, former England coach Andy Flower said the Joe Root-led side has enough "formidable players" to challenge the upbeat hosts.

Notably, Flower was the coach of the English side that won the 2012 Test series in India.

"India won a T20 series, the Melbourne and Brisbane Tests this year and a Test series a couple of years ago in Australia, which goes to show that there are ample opportunities for visiting squads to make a mark," Flower told PTI in an exclusive interview.

"The nature of cricket has changed, as both batsmen and bowlers have become more athletic, backed by an aggressive outlook. It must be viewed through the lens of changes taking place around us, and it will not be so monotonous anymore as we shall begin to see patterns," he added.

Flower, however, refused to pick a favourite for the four-Test series.

"It would be premature to declare the direction in which the fortunes of any team would swing. However, the English side has a formidable combination of players who can set themselves into comfortable or winning situations," he said.

According to Andy Flower, the series would be about how one seizes critical moments.

"A lot will depend on the game day, and the star performers' ability to convert critical opportunities. The English squad has some amazing players who have excelled in all formats of the game," the Zimbabwean said.

A lot of England's Test success can be attributed to the champion pace bowling duo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, who have more than 1100 Test scalps between them.

Flower admitted that once the two leave, it will be hard to fill in their big shoes.

"All teams undergo such periods of transition when they have to replace star performers that are phasing out," said Flower.

"Building a fierce bowling attack often takes some amount of time, and both Anderson and Broad have dominated the pace attack for England for little over a decade.

"They will be leaving a memorable legacy behind, and the new set of bowlers have large shoes to fill," he further remarked.

Flower, who has been one of the coaches in the Kings XI Punjab set-up during the last IPL, also expressed interest in coaching India if BCCI offers him a job.

"Obviously, India is one of the greatest Test nations in the world, and it would be an honour for anyone to coach such an impeccable side," he concluded.

(With PTI inputs)