England vs India: Heatwave can help Indian spinners, feel former Indian players

Former Indian spinners feel that the heatwave in England this summer will impact the pitches for the upcoming five-Test series starting August 1 and that it will not be surprising if the visitors included as many as three spinners in the first XI. They are of the opinion that the impact of the hot conditions was already seen as England recalled leg-spinner Adil Rashid out of his retirement from red-ball cricket.

Former spinners Erapalli Prasanna and Maninder Singh recently shared their thoughts on the impact that the warm conditions prevailing in England this summer could have on the high-profile series. India are in the hunt for their first Test series win in England after 11 years. They were annihilated in the last two series they played in England in 2011 and 2014, both time under Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s captaincy.

More than one spinner

Speaking to CricketNext, Singh, who took 88 Test wickets in 35 matches between 1982 and 1993, said: “The weather will see both teams fielding more than one spinner. In such a case, I think my money is on Ashwin and Kuldeep. The simple reason is that both of them can pick wickets. On foreign soil you need wicket-takers. I am happy if my spinner gives away say 120 runs in 30 overs and gives me 5 wickets in return.”

Prasanna, one of the members of India’s famous spin quartet of the 1960s and 1970s, also believed that the Indian spinners will get help from the weather conditions and also backing from Kohli who he called a “brilliant captain”.

India have a lot of options in their spinning department to choose from. While there is the experienced Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and the in-form Kuldeep Yadav also give Kohli enough flexibility. It will be a tough call for the visiting side to choose the right combination for the upcoming series.

The return of Rashid, on the other hand, could be a concern for the Indian batsmen. Though former England captain Michael Vaughan called 30-year-old Rashid’s recall as “ridiculous” only to be criticised, Rashid could prove to a potent weapon for the hosts during the series.

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