India and England will go head to head in a four match Test series set to begin from February 5 from the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai. And with the return of Virat Kohli back to the Indian side, the focus is back on him again. He missed the last three Test matches against Australia due to a maternity leave. He is back in the side as a skipper and Ajikya Rahane has returned to his original role of a vice-captain. In a recent virtual press conference with reporters, England’s batting coach Graham Thorpe revealed England’s plans to stop Indian batsmen and especially Virat Kohli.
Ahead of the Test series, the batting coach said that the English bowlers will have to bowl their ‘best balls’ more often to get better of Virat Kohli. "The key for our bowling attack will be to bowl our 'best ball' as often as we can. I don't think we can ask for anything more from our spinners and seamers,” he said.
He also said that the key for England would be that they put as many runs on the board and then restrict the Indian batsman to create pressure. That according to him was one important aspect of stopping the Indian team. He also spoke about the in-experience in the England batting line-up and it will be sort of a ‘learning-curve’ for them. He said, "Some of our players haven't played in sub-continent, so in terms of development might be behind others but they are working hard and hopefully can put on a good show. It'll be a bit of a learning curve for some of them as well."
Thorpe said that playing India in India is one of the biggest challenge in sport but he also reiterated that the English boys are not worried about it but they are relishing the situation as a player.
The series is set to begin from February 5.