England asst. coach says the Indians have a potent pace attack too
Whenever a non-subcontinent team travels to India, the focus is on how the travelling batsmen handle the spinners.
But in the last two home series, against South Africa and Bangladesh, Indian pacers have accounted for more wickets than spinners.
It is something England assistant coach Graham Thorpe is aware of and he warned against focusing too much on spin considering India’s potent pace attack.
“One thing about the Indian bowling attack is that it is not just about spin,” Thorpe said on Friday during a virtual media interaction. “Their seam attack is strong. We cannot be side-tracked completely and focus just on the spin side of things.”
“Playing spin will be important, of course. But with the Indian attack, we know that seam bowling is in play as well. India’s attack has developed into a very good one, and we are very aware of that.”
Real challenge
Commenting on the series and the challenge India poses at home, Thorpe said, “As a cricketer, when you get to the highest level, this is the kind of series that you want to test yourself in. India at home is a real challenge. They are playing very good cricket. They are very strong at home and are coming off a series win in Australia. We have got some players who haven’t toured India. So, it will be a learning curve for them.”
When asked about the Indian batting line-up and plans for Virat Kohli, Thorpe said, “Virat is just one in a batting order which understands home conditions very well. The key for our bowling attack will be to bowl our ‘best ball’ as often as we can.”
“We need to have runs on the board and then having the Indian batting order under pressure will be the key. To take the game deep will be an important aspect for England,” added the 51-year-old.