"I’m more excited going into this tour than previous tours to India" - James Anderson
Record-breaking England seamer James Anderson revealed that he is looking forward to the upcoming India tour more than before. The veteran new-ball bowler also reflected that the hosts must be smart with their approach on this occasion.
England face a stern test ahead of their five-Test tour of India, beginning on January 25 in Hyderabad. Their struggle against spin is firmly in the spotlight. They must find a way to combat India's lethal spin-pronged unit, consisting of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel.
The 41-year-old said on The Telegraph that England will play a lot more aggressively than earlier and hope to take inspiration from their 3-0 win in Pakistan.
"I’m more excited going into this tour than previous tours to India. In the past it has been a real slog and we have tried to grind it out. We will look to play the same way of the last two years but be smart about it.
"Nobody had us down to win 3-0 in Pakistan and we can take huge confidence from that. Conditions could be similar, not identical, but slow wickets for seamers and we have to be smart."
The Lancashire seamer claimed that he is optimistic of using his vast experience to good effect in India, adding:
"India is a place where conditions will not be in favour of the seamers but I’ve been there before and had success, so I’m just trying to marry all that up and make sure I’m in a really good place."
Anderson, along with Joe Root, are the only members from the current squad still around when England registered a famous win in India in 2012. The pacer had a productive tour, claiming 12 wickets in seve innings at 30.25.
"I feel the last 5-6 years have been the best of my career" - James Anderson
While Anderson acknowledged his forgettable performance in the 2023 Ashes series, he remains optimistic about his hard work paying off. The right-arm seamer sadi:
"I feel the last 5-6 years have been the best of my career. Although the Ashes did not go as well as I wanted it to, there have been many series when I have not bowled well throughout my career and it is just a case of putting in the hard work to make sure it doesn’t happen again."
England's most recent Test series, the Ashes, resulted in a 2-2 draw.