India vs England 2021: Ramiz Raja Reckons England Have Scheduled Their Subcontinent Tour Well

Former Pakistan Cricketer Ramiz Raja feels that England has prepared their subcontinent tour well by going to Sri Lanka for a two-match Test series prior to the series against India. England is coming from a 2-0 series win against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka which is a great feat and now their next assignment will be against India as they prepare in Chennai for the first Test on February 5.

Joe Root was in scintillating form in the two Tests against Sri Lanka and scored a mammoth 426 runs in 2 tests with a double hundred. England spinners Dominic Bess and Jack Leach bowled really well in the pitches in Sri Lanka and took 22 wickets together in the series. The worrying factor is the form of their top-order batsman apart from Joe Root against Spin bowling and they will find it even harder in the rank turners at Chennai against the likes of R Ashwin.

Ramiz Raja Lauds England For Their Overseas Performances

Ramiz Raja lauded England for their better performances in overseas conditions and told that England has prepared really well for the upcoming series by playing in Sri Lanka which allows them to be familiar with the subcontinent pitches. He expects the series to be a good battle between these nations who have won their recent tours and will be riding high on confidence.

“England scheduled their tours perfectly. They have gone to India after playing in Sri Lanka so they are accustomed now to subcontinent conditions. England will take confidence from their series win in Sri Lanka and it will be a good series,” Ramiz Raja told a YouTube channel.

“It is a series between the top two Test sides because Australia has been beaten at home and I like the New Zealand team because of their captain (Kane Williamson) but I think on overseas tours, England have done better than them,” he added.

The Ashwin Factor For England

India will be welcoming their match-winners back into the squad with the return of Virat Kohli and Ishant Sharma for the England series but the biggest threat for England batsman will be R Ashwin who has phenomenal numbers while playing in India. He becomes a nightmare for the batsman if they don’t play spin well and to add to that, he had a good overseas tour against Australia with 12 wickets in 3 games.

The battle between Joe Root and R Ashwin will decide the outcome of the 4 match series.