Former England captain and one of their batting greats, Sir Alastair Cook, raised concerns about England's preparations for the upcoming five-match Test series against India, starting on January 25.
In his article for 'The Sunday Times,' Cook expressed worries about the Ben Stokes-led England cricket team’s "lack of match preparation," saying it would have been great to have some warm-up matches ahead of the challenging Test series in India.
Cook recalled England’s successful Test tour of India in 2012, where they played three valuable warm-up matches and won their last Test series on Indian sol, while highlighting the importance of practice games for such a tough tour.
Alastair Cook wrote in his column for ‘The Sunday Times’: “The problem England will have is a lack of match preparation. It would be good if there was some sort of unwritten agreement between countries to put on decent practice matches in decent conditions for touring teams. I now think it is their best chance of success. They won't follow the traditional rules of batting in the subcontinent.”
Cook said that the former skipper and senior batter Joe Root will be a key asset for England in the upcoming Test series, given his ability to play spin.
He added, “He's scored a lot of runs in the subcontinent in recent years in Sri Lanka and India, and he has done it by being very proactive, but in what seemed to be a very risk-free way.”
Well, Cook is curious about how India will react to England's aggressive strategy, as he feels the 'Bazball' might make things tough for the Indian bowlers. Cook is optimistic about England's 'Bazball' approach, seeing it as a positive factor for England during their tough tour of India.
(With PTI Inputs)
