England right-arm fast bowler Jofra Archer feels England have enough options to throw a challenge in the spin department during the upcoming series. On the contrary, says Archer, India won’t be able to “out-spin” his side as they take on each other in the four-match Test series in the subcontinent.
“I’ve played lots of Indian Premier League here but nothing in terms of first-class cricket, so the challenges of bowling with a red ball will become clearer,” Archer wrote in his column for a UK publication.
“In the IPL the batters have to come at you, whereas in Test cricket they can sit on you for a full session if they want and if the pitch is dead there is nothing you can do about it,” he added.
In the IPL, Archer represents the Rajasthan Royals. In his 35 matches so far in the IPL, the England spearhead has taken 46 wickets.
“So let’s hope we get some good wickets with a little bit of pace for the bowlers,” said Archer who has played 11 Tests and picked 38 wickets so far. “Or even some turn, because if they spin, the matches will not be one-sided. We have good spinners in our squad and India won’t out-spin us.”
India and England will come into the series with a lot of self-belief with their respective recent series win. England clinched a convincing 2-0 Test series win in Sri Lanka, while India secured a memorable 2-1 Border-Gavaskar series win in Australia.
The first two Tests will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium from February 5. Thereafter the action will shift to Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad for the final two Tests, which includes a pink-ball match as well.
The Test series will be followed by five T20Is and three ODIs.
