• Source:JND
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Former England captain Nasser Hussain said that veteran pacer James Anderson will be crucial for Ben Stokes-led side in the next year's Test series against India. England will be without Stuart Broad, who announced his retirement from international cricket after the fifth Ashes Test at The Oval in London, and in his absence Andreson will play a huge role for the English side.

India are slated to host England for five-match Test series starting from January 25, 2024. Hyderabad, Vizag, Rajkot, Ranchi, and Dharamsala will host the matches of the red-ball series.

"I think especially with Broad going, I would like that experience (in India)," Hussain said in the latest episode of The ICC Review.

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"Chris Woakes has stated that he's not that keen anymore of playing away from home and his record's not great away from home. We'll see, he (Woakes) might change his mind. There's been a lot of mind changes recently. But if you don't have Woakes and you don't have Broad, you will need that experience of someone like Jimmy Anderson," Hussain added.

Anderson struggled to make any impact during the recent Ashes series against Australia. The 41-year-old struggled to generate much movement with the ball as he managed to get five wickets in the series at an average of 85.40 in four appearances.

Anderson has an excellent record against India, six of his 32 five-wicket hauls in Tests are against Rohit Sharma’s side and his average in the Asian country (29.32) is quite decent in comparison to other places he has featured in.

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"Jimmy's got a very good record against India…and you need a balanced attack. You need that experience for younger players to come in. Listen, Jimmy's had a bad or an average couple of months, but you are a fool if you're writing off Jimmy Anderson. I spoke to him in an interview yesterday and he was like, the hunger is still there. He's already thinking about how to get back to his best," Hussain said.

"He's already thinking about going back in the nets and working hard at his game and that's a good sign for me that he's still got that hunger. He's, what, 10 wickets away from 700, and that will keep him going for a while yet," the veteran batter added.

(With ANI inputs)