"Need To Use His Bowlers Cleverly": India Great's Advice For Rohit Sharma Ahead Of England Tests

Team India is all set to face England in the upcoming five-match Test series. The first Test will kick-start from January 25 in Hyderabad. Rohit Sharma and Co will be coming to this series after registering a 3-0 clean sweep against Afghanistan in a T20I series. In this Test series, the likes of Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah will be returning to action, who earlier missed the T20Is against Afghanistan. Ahead of the first Test, former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar came up with some advice for skipper Rohit. 

As the first match will be played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, Gavaskar stated that Rohit will have to rotate his bowlers "cleverly" as the pitch will not be offering enough turn. 

“As captain, Rohit Sharma will need to use his bowlers cleverly. Usually in Hyderabad, there is not enough turn on offer, so if England bats first and make a successful start till lunch, there we've to see how he uses his bowlers to judge him,” Gavaskar told Star Sports. 

"Rohit Sharma scored a tremendous century against England in the Chennai Test during the previous home series. He showed how to bat in a spin-friendly pitch. If he bats similarly then Team India will get a good start. It also eases the work for No. 3 and 4 batters,” he added.

England drew their previous series against India at home. However hosts India, unbeaten in a Test series since their 1-2 loss to England in 2012-2013 season, remain a formidable opponent.

The Test series promises an intriguing clash between India's spin prowess, led by experienced campaigners like Ashwin, and England's aggressive batting strategy. India also have the likes of Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel.

(With PTI Inputs)