Former pacer Steven Finn believes that England’s upcoming five-match Test series against India will be their toughest assignment.
‘Bazball’s’ trial on India’s tricky turning surface will begin with the first Test of the five Test series on January 25 at Hyderabad.
The Three Lions will set out to win the Test series on Indian soil for the first time in nine years. But Finn feels that the sweet taste of victory won’t be easy to come by for Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum’s led team.
“There’s no doubt this is the toughest challenge an England team can face. I think it’s really a true mark of where a team is at, when you go to India and you’ve the conditions up against you,” the former England seam bowler told Sky Sports.
“The way the team have played, they are going to try and counter this in a different way than anyone has done it before, which is going to be entertaining to watch. Whether it’ll bring about a different result at the end of it, I don’t know,” Finn added.
Finn was a part of England’s squad that toured India 12 years ago under the captaincy of Alastair Cook.
The spin duo of Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar weaved magic to clinch a momentous 2-1 win over India. But since then, the English side has struggled to pull out a series win.
The uncapped duo Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir will form a four-man strong spin attack, consisting of Jack Leach, returning from an injury that ruled him out of The Ashes last year and teenage sensation Rehan Ahmed. England’s spin squadron will be looking to draw inspiration from the former spin duo and inspire the visitors to a victory.
In reply, India has also named four spinners, which include Axar and Kuldeep Yadav, along with the veteran pair Ashwin and Jadeja.
The last time England visited India was in 2021, when Ashwin and Axar combined to take 60 wickets and guided India to a come-from-behind 3-1 series win.
There’s no doubt this is the toughest challenge an England team can face- Steven Finn