Veteran England seamer James Anderson has hinted that the England might consider opening with two spinners in the upcoming five-Test series against India. This strategy aims to counter the traditionally spin-friendly conditions in the host country.
The English squad has included four specialist spinners for the series, namely Jack Leach, Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, and Shoaib Bashir. Among them, Jack Leach is the only one with prior experience in playing Test cricket in India. The series is set to commence on January 25 in Hyderabad, and the English team is currently undergoing a training camp in Abu Dhabi.
"There are only four seamers going, so we will not be expecting to bowl a huge amount of seam. It is just a slightly different role," he told 'The Daily Telegraph'.
"You might not bowl the overs you do in England, but they are still important. It probably puts more importance on spells you do bowl. These are the things we will pass on to the guys."
"Reverse swing will play a big part. There might be occasions where we don't open with a seamer. We might open with two spinners," said the 41-year-old.
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Anderson has a good record in India, having claimed 39 wickets. Although he did not have an impressive outing during the Ashes at home last year, he still feels he has something to contribute to the side.
"The training I have done this winter, I feel like age is just a number," he continued.
"...people will always look at my age when it comes up on the screen when I come on to bowl, but for me, it is irrelevant. It is how you feel as a cricketer, and I know I can still dive around in the field and put a shift in with the ball just like I have done for the last 20 years.
"I feel the last five-six years have been the best of my career. Although the Ashes did not go as well as I wanted it to, there have been many series when I have not bowled well throughout my career, and it is just a case of putting in the hard work to make sure it doesn't happen again," he concluded.
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The English last won a Test series in India in 2012-13, while their previous tour in 2021 saw them lose the four-Test series 3-1, having won the opener in Chennai.
Inputs from PTI