India vs England: India will be pumped up, but they need to start afresh against England, says Wasim Jaffer | Cricket News – Times of India
But resting on past laurels is not what any champion team does and the Indian team, who are currently leading the points table of the World Test Championship know that all too well.
Former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer echoed the same sentiment in an interview with TimesofIndia.com.
“India will be pumped up. It’s a new series. India have to forget what happened in Australia, they need to start afresh against England,” Jaffer told Timesofindia.com in an exclusive interview.
Photo credit: BCCI.
The win in Australia was a huge shot in the arm for the Indian team. Not only did they humble the Australians with a severely depleted squad, they did it in foreign conditions. Now, back on home territory, the game plans will need to change.
Overall, India lead the head to head between the the two teams in Tests played in India. But the English have always pushed them hard. In 60 matches played between 1933 and 2016, India have won 19, England have won 13 and 28 matches have ended in draws.
England in fact were the last team to beat India in their own conditions. The Alastair Cook led team beat India 2-1 in the 4 Test series in 2012-13. India though won the last of the Test series encounters between these two teams on Indian soil, humbling England 4-0 in a 5 Test series in 2016-17.
“Obviously, India holds an advantage because they are playing at home. But you can’t take anything for granted. Whatever happened in Australia, you need to leave that behind, take that confidence and start afresh,” Jaffer, who played 31 Tests and 2 ODIs for India between 2000 and 2008, further said.
One of the standout features of India’s big Test series win in Australia recently was the way the youngsters stepped up to the plate.
It wasn’t a surprise then to see the likes of Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Shubman Gill and Washington Sundar included in the squad for the first two Tests.
“I never imagined someone like Washington Sundar will play such a big role (in Australia). Someone like Shardul who didn’t have a memorable Test debut a few years back will impress this much. He got injured and had to leave the field. It never looked like he will play a Test match so soon. But the kind of comeback he made and the performance he showed, was just amazing. Before the IPL, who knew there will be a T Natarajan who will be making debuts in all formats and that too in one series. They all performed with flying colours. It was an amazing display by these youngsters,” Jaffer told TimesofIndia.com.
“I am sure these people will perform really well against England (too),” Jaffer signed off.
