Beating the “best team in the world in their conditions” is certainly a massive task for England, especially after the turn of events in Australia less than a fortnight ago.
However, according to Jos Buttler, the “X-factors” in the form of Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes do keep England in good stead going into the four-match Test series beginning February 5 in Chennai.
“Jofra is certainly an X-factor player. It’s fantastic to have him back in the side and he too will be excited about this big series in India.
“We have a few guys who can do some amazing things with the ball. There’s James Anderson and Stuart Broad, the two of the best seam bowlers to have ever played the game and Jofra obviously is a huge X-factor.
“Ben Stokes is another pretty good X-factor player as well, so we do have a number of guys who can make a difference,” the wicketkeeper-batsman said during an online conference on Saturday.
Alongside Archer and Stokes, captain Joe Root’s outstanding form in Sri Lanka, where he piled up 426 runs at a staggering average of 106.50 in the two-Test series, also keeps England confident against an upbeat India.
“Yeah, Joe was in fantastic form in Sri Lanka. He always had a brilliant game to tackle spin bowling. He’s one of the best exponents of the sweep shot and he picks the length brilliantly, which is obviously a big strength when playing against spin,” Buttler explained.
“It’s hard to keep dot balls as he has so many options to score. He scores quickly against the spinners and manages to rotate strike, and he did that fantastically well in Sri Lanka”
Apart from Root’s ability to bat with authority against spin, what also stands out is his hunger to bat for long periods, Buttler pointed out.
“One of the biggest things was his hunger to bat for a long period of time. He showed great application, both mentally and tactically and he was also physically ready to bat for so long.
“Joe is in great form and that is a great place for him and the team to be at the start of the year,” the dashing wicketkeeper-batsman said.
Available only for the first Test, Buttler will return not before the white-ball leg of the tour, as England focus on rotating their players. Fielding the strongest team all the time, though, will not be possible owing to the bio-bubble protocols and the overall circumstances, Buttler said.
“You do find it challenging staying away from your families, being in quarantine and locked up in hotels. ECB thus has been forward thinking in rotating players for this series.
“At times, it’s frustrating as you want to have best players on the show all the time, but it’s not possible with the amount of time one spends in a bio-bubble. You want your strongest team out every time, but unfortunately, that doesn’t seem possible at the moment.”
