England vs India: Glenn McGrath reckons James Anderson will play a pivotal role in the Test series

The five-match Test series between England and India gets underway on August 1 at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Virat Kohli and his men are currently playing a three-match practice match against Essex at County Ground in Chelmsford. Last time around, the national team led by MS Dhoni, slumped to a 1-3 drubbing after winning the second Test at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Stadium.

Meanwhile, former Australian cricketer Glenn McGrath believed that India’s performance in red-ball cricket on English soil will depend on how they play James Anderson, who recently recovered from the shoulder injury. The 35-year-old was advised to rest his shoulder for six to seven weeks owing to which he missed quite a few matches at the domestic level for Lancashire.

It will be interesting to see their bowling line-up

“Anderson is going to be a big player. It is how the Indian batsmen face his swing and bowling in English conditions. If they can get on top of Anderson, that is going to make a big difference for them. I think for them he is definitely going to be the key,” McGrath was quoted as saying by The Times of India (TOI).

India won the T20I series after dropping one match in Cardiff. In the ODI series that followed, they couldn’t quite hold on to their form and lost the series 1-2 after winning at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. Prior to the Test series, India suffered a couple of injury-blows in the form of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah and McGrath is looking forward to how the visiting team copes without the gun bowlers.

“It is going to be interesting. I think India started really well in England, obviously, it is in the ODIs and T20s. The batting line-up has always been their strength. Just heard about injuries to (Jasprit) Bumrah and Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar). So it will be interesting to see their bowling line-up, to see who comes in and takes the load,” the retired pacer added.

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