IND vs ENG: Graeme Swann Names The Biggest Threat For Team India In The Test Series vs England

England is getting ready for a demanding five-match Test series in India and Graeme Swann is already working with the English spinners, getting them prepared for the tour. The series is commencing on January 25 with the first Test to be played in Hyderabad.

The England cricket team has faced huge defeats as they face difficulties in playing on rank turners. However, they were the last team to defeat India in a Test series on Indian soil. They achieved this feat in 2012 under Alastair Cook who was also the Player of the Series in that Test series.

Graeme Swann played a key role in the 2012-13 Antony de Mello trophy where England created history by beating India in a Test series on Indian soil. He took 20 wickets alongside Monty Panesar in the series to help England clinch the trophy by winning 2-1 in the four-match series. Graeme Swann was one of the finest spinners that England produced in the last decade.

Graeme Swann is currently collaborating with the England spinners who are preparing for the five-match Test series against India. He has identified England’s uncapped spinner, Tom Hartley as a promising talent with a similar potential to Indian spin all-rounder Axar Patel. Swann believes that Hartley has enough potential to be a key factor for England in the Test series against India.

“When I saw Tom in Sri Lanka last winter, he’d barely played any red-ball cricket, but he’s got control and sometimes in India you don’t have to be the biggest turner of the ball. You have to be an Axar Patel-type bowler, able to run up, be metronomic, put it on the spot, get a little bit of rotation on the ball, and let the pitch do the work. Let’s not beat about the bush, we’re going to play on some absolute square turners out there after what happened last time,” Swann was quoted as saying by Sportskeeda.

Graeme Swann Also Points Out Rehan Ahmed As A Potential Threat To India

Graeme Swann also acknowledged the ability of wrist spinner Rehan Ahmed who always poses a constant threat to the batters. However, he emphasized the importance of Ahmed building confidence to enhance his performance in the series.

“He’s a young leggie and on his day he will get you five wickets. We have seen how good he can be already. There will be days when it might not come out quite right and he’ll be expensive, but he will always come out smelling of roses because he’s a brilliant character. He’s got a bit of swagger about him and I love that. I want him to start believing in himself more as a bowler. He believes in himself as a batsman but not as much yet as he should do with the ball,” Graeme Swann concluded.

England has added four spinners to their squad that will be touring India. They have Rehan Ahmed, Jack Leach, Tom Hartley, and Shoaib Bashir as the spinners in the Indian squad. Along with these four spinners, Joe Root will also be effective as a part-time off-break bowling option. Root is currently the No.6 all-rounder in Test cricket. England will face India in Hyderabad, Vishakhapatnam, Rajkot, Ranchi, and Dharamsala respectively in the series.

The Indian team for the Test series against England is to be announced shortly. It will be quite similar to the squad which toured South Africa recently where the series was drawn 1-1 with India creating history to become the first Asian team to win a Test match in Cape Town.