'Hyderabad pitch will spin...' - India coach Rahul Dravid fires warning to England

The turning pitches in India have been a major concern for many overseas teams traveling to the country. As England and India are all set to play the first Test of the five-match series in Hyderabad from January 25, both the teams will be willing to know the nature of the surface. England faced a humiliating defeat against India when they toured the country last time in 2021. England fell into the trap of the Indian spinners and lost the series by 3-1.

While both the teams have reached Hyderabad and are practicing ahead of the first Test, Indian head coach Rahul Dravid was asked about the pitch’s behavior at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium. While answering the question Dravid believed that it is very hard to judge the nature of the pitch until the start of the match. Dravid revealed that the pitch looks good and it looks like it will spin, but the pace cannot be predicted.

India coach Rahul Dravid opens up on the Hyderabad pitch ahead of the first Test against England

Rahul Dravid said, “It is hard one to say till the start. It looks good. It will spin a little bit, how fast and how quickly that I am not sure. It will the spinners as the game goes on.”

The pitches have been a major highlight for the overseas media whenever any team comes out to tour India. There was a lot of controversy on the Indore pitch during the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy when there were a lot of cracks in the surface and the pitch had a lot of uneven bounce. Indian batsmen fell badly against the Australian spinners and also lost the match.

The same happened during the second Test match of the SA vs IND series held at the Sahara Park Newlands in Cape Town. This was the shortest Test match in the history of international cricket when the match finished within 2 days. South Africa batted twice on Day 1 whereas India also faced a terrible batting collapse. However, India were able to win the match and also record their first win in Newlands.

The IND vs ENG Test series is very important from the perspective of the World Test Championship 2023-25. India have played two finals of the tournament but are yet to win their maiden title. On the other hand, England have terrible times on overseas tours during both the cycles of the World Test Championship. However, England have been playing brilliantly under the leadership of Ben Stokes in the red-ball format.

Following losses in the opening two Test matches of the Ashes 2023 against Australia, England were under a great deal of strain. But the three lions rallied, winning the final two of the three Test matches to tie the series at 2-2.

India, who are presently ranked second in the WTC standings, will be hoping to win the series and rack up the necessary points. Since this will be the team’s first Test series following the Ashes 2023 series, England also needs to win this series.