Ben Duckett Says He Is Ready For The Indian Challenge In The Test Series, Issues Massive Warning

England’s wicket-keeper batsman Ben Duckett will have a point to prove when he tours to India for the 5-match Test series starting from January 25. In a recent interview with Sky Sports, the 29-year-old claimed that he is more than ready for the challenge and is ready to face whatever the Indian bowling attack has in store.

This will be the 2nd time that Ben Duckett embark on a Test series in India. His previous one had come in 2016 when England were drubbed 4-0 by the hosts when Sir Alastair Cook was the captain of the Three Lions. Duckett had a series to forget and in his own words, he claimed that it was the first major setback of his career then.

But he believes that he has come a long way since then and his game has improved a lot. Knowing the fact that spinners will have a major say in the series, Ben Duckett claimed that he has gained good experience playing in similar tracks and he knows what to expect this time around.

"It's not going to be a shock whatever they throw at me" 💪

Ben Duckett looks back on his 2016 Test performance against India, and what he learnings he'll take into England's upcoming series 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/UniRUiHnuF

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) January 15, 2024

During his last time here, Duckett returned to England with 18 runs across 3 innings in 2 Tests at Rajkot and Vishakhapatnam and was ultimately axed for the following matches. The biggest problem that came into the for him was his laid-back technique against spin.

He tended to play half-hearted and half-batted shots against spin that too from the leg stump, away from the ball’s line. His technical glitch was heavily exploited by Ravichandran Ashwin but when the series begins this year and if he gets a chance, redemption will be on his mind.

Ben Duckett will also be keen on forgetting the memories of 2016 which he thinks was the reason why he was able to improve.

“Maturity is a big one for me in those years. I’ve played a lot of cricket since then and a lot of learning on the way. That (2016) was my first real setback and I had to go away and deal with that. The biggest change is that this time around its not gonna be a shock whatever they throw at me, I’ve played in those kind of pitches and I know exactly what to expect when I get out there. It was a really tough time. So I can take learnings from how I went on about it there.” – said Ben Duckett on his learnings from previous India tour. 

Ben Duckett Hails Ravichandran Ashwin And Calls Him Exceptional In Indian Conditions

Former England captain Nasser Hussain asked him about what different he could have done in his last tour to India and Ben Duckett ended up giving a shocking response. He claimed that he was outdone by India’s Ravichandran Ashwin and called the off-spinner exceptional in every type of condition.

“It was a different team led by a different management and to be honest I feel like I was outdone thereby, in my eyes the best off-spinner ever in those conditions. I looked up and I wasn’t the last left-hander to struggle out there against Ashwin who is so good in those conditions, he’s so good everywhere. It was just a learning for me, the way that I see a lot of left-handers play against spin when their hands go on the leg side because in England it doesn’t spin that much.”

Meanwhile, the 1st Test will take place on January 25th at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.