Graeme Swann
Graeme Swann (Credits: Twitter)

Former England spinner Graeme Swann advices England batsmen to closely follow their skipper Joe Root on how he tackles India’s premier spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. Ashwin was in great form in the recently concluded Border Gavaskar series against Australia taking 12 wickets in 3 tests to finish as the second-highest wicket-taker for India in tests. Ashwin got the better of the world’s best batsman, Steve Smith, in the series and he will be eyeing Joe Root in the upcoming series.

Ashwin finished as the highest wicket-taker in the series picking up 28 wickets in 5 tests when England toured India last time. Zak Crawley, Dominic Sibley, and Rory Burns will be touring India for the first time, and they will have to play spin really well as Indian bowlers will come really hard at the batsman. England will certainly miss the services of Johny Bairstow, who is not in the squad for the first two tests.

Graeme Swann
Graeme Swann. Credit: Getty Images

Joe Root’s Sweep Shot Could Be Vital

England Skipper Joe Root who was the man of the series in the tests against Sri Lanka is in great form and he will the trump card for England. Graeme Swann wanted the England batsman to take note of Root’s technique against Spinners and his sweep shots are really effective. Interestingly, Joe Root averages 300 with the sweep shots in tests since 2018 and he also averages more than 53 with the bat in India which are extraordinary numbers.

“Root is the best man to handle Ashwin because he has a superb technique against spinners. England batsmen just need to copy what Root does. He is very selective in his shot-making. He plays the sweep shot well and others must just watch Root closely as he is England’s trump card,” Graeme Swann said in an interview with Times of India.

Graeme Swann Reckons India Will Miss Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja has been outstanding in all the formats in recent times and has contributed a lot with the bat especially. He made an immediate impact after he returned for the second test at Melbourne against Australia and to add to that he is one of the best fielders in the world.

Jadeja has performed really well in India and he will surely be missed in the second innings at Chennai when the pitch turns square.

“Chennai’s wicket is usually good for batting on the first three days and then begins to turn square. Jadeja provides massive control at the other end and India will miss him. Having said that, to be honest, I don’t think Ashwin needs someone at the other end to keep England’s batsmen in check.”

Ravindra Jadeja Ruled Out Of The First Two Tests Against England, India, Australia
Ravindra Jadeja. [Image Credits: Twitter]
Jadeja missed out on the squad after he picked up an injury in the third Test at Sydney and Axar Patel has been named in place of him for the tests against England.

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