Akram believes this series will come down to the wire
Legendary Pakistan pace bowler Wasim Akram is confident that his former team-mate and current England spin bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed will be a reliable source for the national team to find out about the conditions in India.
Akram also noted that Ahmed was the perfect man to teach the England players about how to play the Indian spinners and survive in the sweltering heat and humidity.
“The presence of Mushtaq Ahmed will stand England in good stead,” Akram said. “Mushy has been with the English team for the last six years and the former Pakistan leg-spinner has built a good bowling unit.”
“He has not only been a mentor to the English spinners but has also taught the seamers the nuances of reverse spin, which will be very handy on Indian pitches. So Duncan Fletcher and MS Dhoni will have to chalk out a strategy to counter the reverse swing which comes into effect just after 10 or 15 overs with the SG ball.”
The pace legend also sees this England side as one of the toughest that India have faced in the past couple of years.
“After a long time this England team looks a formidable lot,” Akram said. “So any predication that India will wipe them out 4-nil is being a little overambitious. While I am not willing to predict a scoreline, England will be a difficult team to beat and the visitors have already showed their intentions in the warm-up games in Mumbai and Ahmedabad.”
“England have a talented middle-order with Alastair Cook, Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott being the mainstay. And a quality spinner like Graeme Swann and a hard-working seamer like James Anderson give them the balance they need on Indian wickets.”
Akram stated that the Indian team are now at a disadvantage since they have not found any permanent replacement for legendary batting duo Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, who both announced their retirement earlier this year.
“In the absence of Dravid and Laxman, the onus will be on Virat Kohli,” Akram added. “Of course, it’s early to compare him to Dravid but he certainly has the talent and the ability to take on any bowling attack in the world. It will be interesting to see how Kohli copes with the pressure of getting runs in every game as Team India will be heavily relying on him.”
“Another batsman who can play a vital role is Yuvraj Singh. It was absolutely apt to pick Yuvraj in the Test team. He has made a good comeback after his illness and has been getting runs for India and also in Ranji Trophy.
“The double-hundred in Ranji will give him a lot of confidence. The left-hander will also be a handy bowling option for Dhoni. He can turn the ball well on Indian decks and that will give Dhoni more bowling options.”
However, Akram warned England that the Indian spinners will be looking for revenge after the team’s humiliating defeat by 10 wickets in the second Test at Mumbai.
“All spinners are experienced and are very dangerous in home conditions,” Akram said. “Harbhajan Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha can be quite a handful and with Yuvi being the non-regular option, the Indian spin attack is quite a force.”
But, Akram also believes that England off-spinner Graeme Swann will continuously trouble the Indian batsmen throughout the remainder of the series.
“England, of course, will be heavily relying on Swann, who has been in tremendous form,” Akram added. “The off-spinner doesn’t have the ‘doosra’ but his variation with pace is tremendous. He will be a big threat to the Indian batsmen.”
“I firmly believe the team with the better batting will clinch the series. Both teams have the experience to handle panic situations and that will make the series more interesting. And if the warm-up games are anything to go by, England have showed the gumption of taking the fight into the Indian camp.”