England captain Alastair Cook today said that his team is ready to face the challenge of playing India in the upcoming Test series although he conceded that England will be underdogs in this series.
Cook pointed out that the ‘underdog’ status itself will take the pressure off his side and make it more competitive in the five-match rubber.
England will be arriving in India from Bangladesh where they faced the ignominy of losing a Test against the minnows within three days.
World No.1 India have not lost a home series since going down 1-2 in 2012 to England led by the 31-year-old Cook.
"It's a big challenge. Any time you play the No. 1 or the No. 2 ranked team in their backyard, who are very comfortable in their conditions, it's a huge task for us. It's a huge challenge to these guys who have not played a huge amount of cricket in the subcontinent as a group," Cook said.
"What this side has done over the last couple of years is to exceed expectations in big series. We have played really good cricket in big series. Last year we went to South Africa and won away from home when they were No. 1,” he added.
Cook further said that the conditions are different in this part of the world but added that “being underdogs” takes a lot of pressure off them.
"We have got some big selection calls to make but the process has started like always when you know two games (in Bangladesh) have happened," said Cook.
Alastair Cook has a superb record against India and he has scored four centuries and averages over 60 in eight Tests on Indian soil and 54 in 20 Tests overall.
