IND vs ENG 2021: "What about the workload of the seam bowlers" - Monty Panesar unhappy with tight scheduling
England spinner Monty Panesar took to his Twitter account to express his dissatisfaction over the tight schedule of the India-England Test series. The tour consists of five Test matches which will take place over 42 days. Panesar was not happy with the short gap between games as it barely provided any recovery time for the bowlers.
"Second Test in 3 days time, what about the workload of the seam bowlers. England need to play specialist spinner. 5 tests in 42 days. I'm pulling my hair out," wrote Monty Panesar on his Twitter account.
The English conditions are very tough to play in and with barely any rest period it will be very hard for the pacers to operate at their best. England have gone in with no specialist spinners in the first Test but may have to change their strategy going forward, according to Panesar.
A five-match Test series takes a toll on all the players and it will be difficult for England to go in with an all pace attack in the upcoming games. A spinner is necessary to control the flow of the game and give some rest to the pacers. Injuries are common in long series and England would definitely want to preserve their bowlers.
The England pacers bowled their hearts out in the first session on Day 2 but managed to pick up only one wicket. India finished the first session at 97-1.
Monty Panesar took a dig at England's poor batting in the first inning
England won the toss and opted to bat first. However, losing the toss ended up being a blessing in disguise for Team India. The English batsmen were unable to counter the Indian pacers and were bundled down for just 183 runs. Monty Panesar slammed the poor performance by the English batsmen. He also said that England's white ball approach had contributed to their recent batting woes.
Panesar questioned the batsmen as they struggled in their home conditions. Barring Joe Root's fifty and Sam Curran's finish, there was no bright spot in the England batting line-up.
England's batting is known as one of the most lethal in white-ball cricket, however, they have failed to replicate that form and consistency in the longer format of the game. Therefore, Panesar's claims cannot go unnoticed.
England will be hoping to do well in their second innings with the bat to answer Monty Panesar and all the other critics. India have lost Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli post lunch but remain in a strong position with over 100 runs on the board. It will be interesting to see how the second session pans out for both the teams.