As Virat Kohli and his team India get ready for their tour of Ireland and England, the focus has been on a resurgent Indian pace unit which performed admirably in South Africa at the start of the year.
However, Indian spin legend and former coach Anil Kumble believes the team’s slower bowlers can make an impact in England.
With the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in tow, Kumble believes that India’s spinners can give the team the upper hand in the five Tests against England.
“We have the best spinners in the world and even in terms of conditions the fact that we are playing in the second-half will help our cause. We have a great opportunity to win the series. We shouldn’t have a problem operating with Duke ball,” Kumble was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India.
With wrist-spinners being the latest craze in international cricket, Kumble feels that they could be a handy option in the second-half of the summer in England.
Ashwin and Jadeja will lead India’s spin hopes in England.
“Wrist spinners will certainly be a handful and they will certainly play an important part in England since this time we are touring in the second half. The wicket will have wear and tear and the wrist spinners will come into the game much earlier than the first half of the summer,” the former India leg-spinner stated.
The 47-year-old believes India have a great chance of toppling England this time due to the amount of experience in the side.
“We have a great side and an all-round side. In bowling we have the experience and bowlers who can take 20 wickets consistently. If you look at the batting line-up, it has a lot of experience as well,” Kumble said.
“On average, all the players have played close to 50 Tests. That adds a lot of value and it’s not the first time that they are touring England. They have all been there before and they are familiar with the conditions,” he added.
The Indian team departs for Dublin from New Delhi on Saturday where they will play two T20Is against Ireland before moving on to the England leg of the tour. There, Kohli’s men will first play three T20s and as many ODIs before playing a five-match Test series against the hosts.
