Bengaluru: India head coach Rahul Dravid is looking forward for his team to square off against a “different” England side, who according to him were “a little bit on the back foot” last year but are now “playing really good cricket”.
India are currently leading the five-match series against England 2-1 before the fifth and final Test at Old Trafford, slated to begin from September 10, was postponed abruptly due to a fear of Covid-19 outbreak in the visiting party. The postponed fifth Test will now be played at Edgbaston from July 1 to 5.
In almost 10 months since then, both teams have got new captains in Ben Stokes and Rohit Sharma along with new head coaches in Dravid and Brendon McCullum. While India won Test series at home against New Zealand and Sri Lanka, they had to face a 2-1 loss in South Africa.
England, meanwhile, were thrashed 4-0 in Ashes and 1-0 in West Indies before a change in leadership resulted in them playing a positive brand of cricket and taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the ongoing home series against New Zealand.
“In terms of the Test match, it is going to be exciting. For us it is a one-off Test match, but it’s World Test Championship (WTC) points. It’s a series on the line for the guys who played a part in it (last year), and they are very keen to try and win that series and do well. So looking forward to that,” said Dravid after fifth T20I at Bengaluru was abandoned due to rain.
With the majority of Test squad arriving and practicing in London last week, India’s preparation for the Edgbaston Test comprises of a tour match against Leicestershire from June 23 to 26. Dravid, along with Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer, have left for London after the completion of the T20I series against South Africa.
“It is always lovely to play a Test match in England; the crowds are going to be fantastic. You expect really good crowds in England when you play Test cricket there. And England is playing really well at the moment. I mean they are playing some really good cricket.
“It’s probably a bit different to when we were there last year, when England was probably a little bit on the back foot. But they have played couple of good games (against New Zealand), and we have got a pretty good squad as well. Hopefully it will be a good match. I love watching Test cricket, love playing it, love coaching it. Looking forward to it,” concluded Dravid.
–IANS