3 reasons why England don't stand a chance against India in the Test series
Although they are on the back of a 2-0 whitewash in Sri Lanka, England are the definite underdogs heading into the 4-Test series against India.
Virat Kohli's side have been next to unbeatable at home, while Joe Root's side has a lot of unaddressed holes. Despite injuries to a few key players, India will feel confident of winning by a 2-Test margin and sealing their place in the final of the ICC World Test Championship.
Here are 3 reasons why England might be rolled over with ease in the upcoming series against India.
#3 England have an unimpressive spin attack
Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann wreaked havoc during England's historic series win back in 2012/13 in India. While the left-arm spinner scalped 17 wickets in 5 matches, Swann went one better and took 20 wickets in just 7 innings.
On the previous tour of India, which England lost, their spinners struggled. Adil Rashid, who was their lead spinner in that series, averaged almost 38.
England come into this series with Dom Bess and Jack Leach having taken a mountain of wickets in Sri Lanka, but that was more due to their opponents' poor shot selection than their spinners' quality. Bess and Leach are on their first tour of India, and they haven't exactly inspired confidence so far.
Swann said the following about Bess recently:
“Bess hasn’t yet got that consistency and quality control you need in India. He bowls some very good balls, and he can be dangerous. But you can’t afford to play four Tests there and have a poor innings in each Test, which at the moment is happening.”
India have outrageously good players of spin - Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant are all highly comfortable against the slower bowlers. It's unlikely they'll be troubled by Bess and Leach, or Moeen Ali for that matter.
#2 England have a controversial resting policy
The England Cricket Board has been insistent on resting their biggest stars for series.
Ben Stokes, Rory Burns and Jofra Archer were left out of the recent tour of Australia, while Jonny Bairstow, Mark Wood and Sam Curran aren't part of the squad for the first two Tests against India. Jos Buttler, who has been in rip-roaring form in Test cricket of late, will fly back home after the 1st Test.
Bairstow was solid for England - especially against spin - at the No. 3 role, which will now have to be occupied by either Joe Root or the inexperienced Dan Lawrence. The team's only other option, Zak Crawley, suffered a freak injury and is now not in the picture.
Burns, who'll open alongside Dom Sibley, won't have the experience of having played on turning tracks in Sri Lanka, while Stokes will also be a bit short on match practice. Curran has tormented India in the past, but he won't get a crack against his favourite opponents in the first half of the series at least.
It's a promising sign for England that they so many players they can call upon, but against India in India, they need to be at their best to pull off a win.
#1 This is the first tour of India for many of England's players
Rory Burns and Dom Sibley, who'll open the batting for England against India, aren't known to be the best players of spin. They're on their first tour of India, and the latter is on the back of a largely unconvincing tour of Sri Lanka.
The other young batsmen in the squad - Dan Lawrence, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes and Ollie Pope - are all highly inexperienced as well. Apart from James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Joe Root, no player has significant experience in the subcontinent.
Many of England's players will be thrown into the deep end at an early stage of their careers. It will be historic if they manage to step up, like India's youngsters did recently against Australia.
But the turning ball against India's world-class spinners is a whole different ball game, and it can be argued that England don't have the tools to succeed.