“I don’t see this England side winning a Test in India” – Gautam Gambhir

Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir does not see the visiting England side winning a Test in the upcoming four-Test series in India, as he doesn’t consider their spin-attack to be robust.

England have Moeen Ali, Dom Bess and Jack Leach in their squad, but while Moeen Ali has 181 wickets from 60 Tests, Dom Bess and Jack Leach have only played 12 Tests each.

"I don’t see England winning any of the Test matches with the kind of spin attack they’ve got,” Gautam Gambhir, 39, said on a show on Star Sports.

“It has to be 3-0 India or probably 3-1. I’m only going to give a Pink Ball Test match, probably 50-50 to England just from the conditions point of view.”

Gautam Gambhir was part of the Indian side that lost to England at home in the 2012-13 season. India haven’t lost a series at home since then. During the 2016-17 season, India beat England 4-0 at home.

Joe Root won’t find it easy in India: Gautam Gambhir

With an average of over 54, England captain Joe Root holds an envious batting record in Asia. He has been in tremendous form, scoring back-to-back centuries in Sri Lanka in England’s 2-0 whitewash. However, Gautam Gambhir believes that India will pose a different challenge.

“This is going to be a completely different challenge for someone like Joe Root.

“Yes, he has played really well in Sri Lanka, but when you face people like Jasprit Bumrah on any wicket, or for that matter, R Ashwin, when his confidence is sky-high after what he has done in Australia, I am sure it is going to be a completely different beast and a completely different ball game,” Gautam Gambhir added.

The series starts in Chennai on Friday. The first two Tests will be played in Chennai, while the third and fourth Test will be played in the refurbished Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad. The third Test of the series will be a pink-ball affair.