- Thursday, February 27, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
FORMER England captain Kevin Pietersen has warned the Three Lions that their Test match against India at Edgbaston starting July 1 will not be easy despite the recent 3-0 win they scripted over Test world champions New Zealand at home.
The match between England and India will be the fifth of the series which was held last year but was halted after the fourth game due to Covid-19 scare in the Indian camp. India, who were captained by Virat Kohli then, are leading the series 2-1 and the onus is now on Rohit Sharma (he though was replaced by Jasprit Bumrah as the captain after testing Covid positive again) to ensure that a series victory is confirmed.
While England batter such as Jonny Bairstow blasted New Zealand bowlers in the just concluded Test series, Pietersen felt that the situation would be different with the Indian bowlers as they would not mind the home team’s hard-hitting players playing shots against them.
He also said that apart from captain Kane Williamson and fast bowler Trent Boult, the Kiwis did not have star performers in their ranks.
“It always surprised me that New Zealand were World Test Champions. I mean no disrespect by that, because they must be doing something to get the very best out of each other. But other than Kane Williamson and Trent Boult, who needs the ball to be swinging, they lack star quality,” Pietersen was quoted as saying on Betway.
“So I certainly expect England to face a tougher test against India, who are packed full of the best players on the planet.
“India’s bowlers might not mind so much that England are going to come out swinging at them. Ravi Jadeja is an excellent spinner when people start getting after him and you can be sure that Jasprit Bumrah will see it as an opportunity, too,” he said.
New Zealand had beaten India in the final of the World Test Championship by 8 wickets in Southampton in June last year to lift the crown.
On England’s bowling, Pietersen said the hosts might have to work harder to get success against the likes of Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara and Kohli, some of whom have returned among runs of late.
“England bowled well against New Zealand, but a batting order featuring Rohit Sharma (who will hopefully be available), Che Pujara, Virat Kohli and so on is a different kettle of fish,” he added.
