Legendary Indian cricketer VVS Laxman hailed the Indian cricket team for their Test series win over England but warned the hosts to not take Eoin Morgan and his team lightly in the white-ball leg, as the two teams are set to lock horns in a five-match T20I series followed by three-match ODI series.
As the white-ball series beginning on Friday (March 12) at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad with a T20I game, Laxman said England will be infinitely more competitive in the white-ball leg of the India tour after crushing defeat in the four-match Test series 1-3 earlier this month.
Laxman wrote in his column for Times of India, “I expect England to be infinitely more competitive in the white-ball leg. England's policy in recent times seems to be based around limited-overs cricket.”
He further added, “Jolted by their first-stage elimination at the 2015 World Cup, they reinvented their approach to the shorter formats. Their designs center around all-out aggression with the bat; they also bat deep, which allows them to keep expressing themselves fearlessly even if it means very occasionally, they might self-destruct.”
With India hosting the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 in October-November, Laxman feels the hosts will start the preparations for the showpiece event with the upcoming home T20Is against England.
Laxman added, “It's this challenge that India will look to conquer. In some ways, this is the beginning of the final stages of preparation for the T20 World Cup in seven months' time. Yes, there is the IPL to follow, but then again, the Indian think-tank has more or less identified the nucleus around which the hosts will mount their charge for their first T20 World Cup since 2007.”
The former batsman further lauded India for their remarkable come-from-behind victory in the recent Test series, saying it was a fitting tribute to their skills and resolve against England.
Laxman continued, “For the second successive series, India rallied from defeat in the first Test to complete a remarkable come-from-behind victory - a fitting tribute to their skills and resolve.
Somewhat understandably flat in the first of two Tests in Chennai - the tour Down Under in these testing times of bio-bubbles had to be mentally and emotionally draining - India were transformed by the time of the second Test. As they grew in stature, England wilted, victims as much of their technical inadequacies against spin as the gremlins in their heads.”
He further lauded the youngsters for coming good and contributing to the Test series victory over England as India sealed a spot in the World Test Championship final against New Zealand.
Laxman signed off by saying, “India's 3-1 victory and a place in the final of the World Test Championship against New Zealand was no more than they deserved. Impressively enough, youngsters and newcomers had as much of a hand in the scoreline as experienced hands like Rohit Sharma and R Ashwin.”
