India and England are set to clash in the five-match series starting on January 25 at Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. English pacer Ollie Robinson is looking forward to challenging India's Virat Kohli and revealed his preparations to tackle tricky Indian pitches.
Apart from pitch talk and anticipation about playing conditions, fans are set to witness some amazing player battles on the ground. India's Vira Kohli is chasing some major milestones in red-ball cricket in the upcoming series but faces a tough challenge against an English bowling attack.
Robinson, 30, emerged as the best bowler for England when both teams last clashed in the bilateral series in 2021. Robinson made his Test debut in 2021 and has already dismissed Kohli on three occasions.
Without Stuart Broad, England are likely to depend on James Anderson, Mark Wood and Robinson and will find it difficult to dominate through pace on spin-friendly surfaces in India. However, Robinson is looking forward to facing in-form Kohli again and said that he will play around the veteran's ego having already succeeded in the past battles.
"You always want to play against the best players, don't you?," Robinson told ESPN. "And you always want to get the best players out. Kohli is one of those. He's got a big ego and I think playing on that, especially in India, where he is going to want to dominate and score runs, playing on the fact we've had battles in the past, is exciting. If I can have a big tour in India, then it should set me up for a while. If I do well, I can cement myself back in the team."
Robinson also acknowledged Mohammed Shami's threat in the upcoming series and revealed that he is practising Indian bowlers 'dead-straight seam'.
"I've actually been practising Mohammed Shami's dead-straight seam. He's one of the best bowlers for India. I was looking at Ishant (Sharma) as well - he played at Sussex for a bit and he's done really well in India for quite a while. On this tour, it'll be about being adaptable; look at the pitch a day or two before and assess how it'll play, or try to get clues from the nets on the square," Robinson added.
