"Koi tension nahi hai..." - Chetan Sharma predicts India to hammer England 4-1 in Test series
Former BCCI Chief Selector Chetan Sharma has backed the Indian team to make a strong comeback against England after losing the series-opener by 28 runs in Hyderabad. The former cricketer believes that India will win the remaining games despite losing big names like KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja due to injuries. Chetan Sharma pointed out that team India was in a similar situation in 2021 when England last toured India and won the series opener in Chennai only for India to seal the series 3-1.
Ollie Pope was the game-changer in the first Test as he smashed 196 against India on a spin-friendly track despite England trailing by 190 runs in their second innings. Defending 231 in the last innings, debutant left-arm spinner Tom Hartley wreaked havoc taking a seven-fer to win the match for England. Ollie Pope was selected as the Player of the Match.
Chetan Sharma told India Today, “Koi tension nahi hai, 4-1 karenge (No tension, we’ll make it 4-1). Athithiyo ka Swagat kiya hai hamne, koi problem nahi (We’ve welcomed our guests, there’s no problem). Ek mistake ho jata hay (Sometimes you make a mistake). I won’t call it a mistake, they played well.”
Sharma continued, “Kahin na kahin ham pehla match hare hain (Somewhere we lost the opening match), toh kehte hain ki jo jeeta woh Sikander (there’s a phrase that the one who wins becomes a champion) but it’s not the case here. India has a lot of potential.”
He added, “We had also lost the opening Test in Chennai three years ago and then we thrashed them [England] 3-1. Similarly, history will repeat itself and in the next game, the Indian team will look completely different. There’ll be aggression and according to me, we are winning the series 4-1.”
India Will See Either Rajat Patidar Or Sarafaraz Khan Making Their Debut In The Second Test
Rajat Patidar was included in the Indian squad after Virat Kohli opted out of the first two Tests citing personal reasons whereas Sarfaraz Khan has been recently added to the squad after KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja were ruled out due to their respective injuries. One of these two batters will be making their debut against England on Friday, February 2.
Sarfaraz Khan has been very consistent in domestic cricket recently, whereas Rajat Patidar has also shown his caliber in the limited opportunities that he has had. The two batters are stalwarts in domestic cricket and as a result, are getting an opportunity to represent the national team in the white jersey. However, only one of them will make their Test debut whereas it is expected that Washington Sundar will play the game replacing Ravindra Jadeja who has picked up a hamstring injury.
India and England will face each other in the second Test at Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Stadium in Vishakhapatnam and the Rohit Sharma-led side will hope to make a comeback in the series after losing the first Test by 28 runs against England. The England team will be hoping to continue their winning run and increase their lead to 2-0 in the five-match Test series.
Tagged:
Chetan Sharma England National Cricket Team IND vs ENG 2024 India National Cricket Team India vs England Test series
