Andy Flower, the former Zimbabwe cricketer and coach of the England team which won a Test series in India back in 2012, has reckoned that Joe Root’s men will find it tougher to beat India in the upcoming 4-match series.
The 52-year-old said that India are motivated after their 2-1 triumph in Australia and also they are more confident about their stature in world cricket. Further, he stated that Joe Root will have to do what former England captain Alastair Cook did during the 2012 tour — “Be the rock around which big innings can be built”.
“It’s one thing going to Australia and trying to win but a four-match series in India is challenging in a very different way and I think it’s going to be tougher for England now than it was for us. India will be more confident after that win in Australia and they’re also a more confident nation now about their standing in world cricket.
“Joe should be the rock around which we can build big innings, like Cook was in our team,’ said the former England coach. ‘He’s our most skilful player of spin and can combine a really nice, soft defence with the alternating of strike and occasionally jumping out of his bubble and scoring boundaries.
“Then we need guys like Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes to come to the party with a more pro-active game, a bit like Kevin Pietersen did in 2012. Where Root might be playing at a certain tempo, those guys can up it and really put pressure on the opposition spinners,” Andy Flower told Daily Mail.
