With Virat Kohli ruled out of the first two Tests against England, it is a given that Rohit Sharma, the captain, will have to bat in the upcoming series with more responsibility. He is one of the most experienced players in the line-up and a lot will depend on how he performs with the bat at the top of the order. Pull shot has been one of most productive shots for the Indian skipper but the same shot has also brought his downfall on multiple occasions.
Rohit is compulsive hooker of a short ball and that even cost him in the recent Test series against South Africa. He pulled Kagiso Rabaa's short ball and it went straight into the hands of the fielder in the deep. England fast bowler Mark Wood is also aiming to do the same despite the conditions being alien for the quicks. He understands there won't be much help to bowl consistent bouncers but Wood is willing to put in more effort.
"Yeah, the conditions will be assessed once I am out there, and bumps (bouncers) are rarely bought out here. But the pitch sometimes can be two-paced and, if it is slow, it can help (bowlers) because the batters will be through with the shot. Someone like Rohit, I know how good he is on the short ball. That doesn't necessarily mean that I wouldn't bowl a bouncer. It just means that I'll have to be really accurate with it and bowl at the right time," Wood said at the press conference ahead of the match.
Meanwhile, a lot of eyes will be on England aggressive brand of cricket which they've been playing ever since Stokes and Brendon McCullum took over as captain and coach respectively. It worked in Pakistan where they became the first visiting team to win 3-0 against the home team in 2022. Speaking about the same, Mark Wood stated that they understand the challenges and how strong India are at home but won't change their way of cricket.
"We know the challenges here. They (India) very rarely lose at home. I think it's almost like a bit of a free hit for us where we can come in and try something different. We created history in Pakistan recently, becoming the first team to win every match. So, this is another chance to do something historic and try and beat India in their own conditions," Wood added.
