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England are gearing up for a demanding five-match Test tour of India, commencing on January 25 in Hyderabad. The English team has encountered difficulties facing Indian spinners in recent tours, leading to substantial defeats. Significantly, England holds the distinction of being the last team to defeat India in a Test series on Indian soil, achieving this feat in 2012.
Graeme Swann’s memorable role in England’s 2012 triumph
In the historic 2012-13 series for the Anthony de Mello Trophy, off-spinner Graeme Swann played a pivotal role, picking 20 wickets alongside Monty Panesar. This partnership led to a surprising 2-1 victory for England, marking a rare achievement in the cricketing history. Prior to this triumph, England had last won a Test series in India in 1984-85, and Swann played a crucial part in ending the 27-year drought.
England’s potential game-changer
Swann, currently collaborating with England spinners, has identified the uncapped Tom Hartley as a promising talent similar to Axar Patel. He believed that the young Englishman possesses the potential to make a significant impact in the upcoming Test series.
“When I saw Tom in Sri Lanka last winter, he’d barely played any red-ball cricket, but he’s got control and sometimes in India you don’t have to be the biggest turner of the ball. You have to be an Axar Patel-type bowler, able to run up, be metronomic, put it on the spot, get a little bit of rotation on the ball, and let the pitch do the work. Let’s not beat about the bush, we’re going to play on some absolute square turners out there after what happened last time,” Swann was quoted as saying by Sportskeeda.
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Rehan Ahmed’s threatening wrist-spin
Discussing wrist-spinner Rehan Ahmed, the 44-year-old acknowledged Ahmed’s ability to pose a constant threat to batters, even when not at his best. However, he emphasized the importance of Ahmed building confidence to enhance his performance in the series.
“He’s a young leggie and on his day he will get you five wickets. We have seen how good he can be already. There will be days when it might not come out quite right and he’ll be expensive, but he will always come out smelling of roses because he’s a brilliant character. He’s got a bit of swagger about him and I love that. I want him to start believing in himself more as a bowler. He believes in himself as a batsman but not as much yet as he should do with the ball,” the Northampton-born cricketer concluded.
