Former England spinner Graeme Swann has shared a word of advice for the young England spinners ahead of their challenging five-match Test series against India. Swann expressed confidence in the spinners' ability to perform well on the demanding Indian tracks during the upcoming series. The series is scheduled to commence on January 25 in Hyderabad, where India will host England for five Test matches.
Swann, alongside England's former left-arm spinner Monty Panesar, had a successful outing on Indian pitches during the 2012-13 Test series. England secured a 2-1 victory against India, marking their last triumph on Indian soil in Tests. With 12 years having passed since then, the England team is eager for success in the upcoming series.
The visiting team aims to break their decade-long pattern and clinch the series victory. In the forthcoming series on sub-continent pitches, where spin is likely to play a crucial role, all eyes will be on Shoaib Bashir and Tom Hartley, expected to make their debuts for England.
Jack Leach will be leading the spin attack for England, who demonstrated success on spin-friendly tracks in the 2021 series, securing 18 wickets. Despite the relative inexperience of the spin department for this series, Swann expressed confidence in the spinners' abilities to excel on Indian tracks and encouraged them to draw inspiration from the legendary Australian spinner Shane Warne.
"Everyone should look as confident as Warne did in the second innings of any game, because if you can bluff the batter into thinking you're in control, then you can get wickets." Swann said on Sky Sports Podcast.
"The best advice I got was from Shane Warne. He said to me in the first innings, spin the ball as hard as you can because the pitch will do nothing and try to pick up the odd wickets," he said.
Swann encourages the England players to display confidence on the field and not be daunted by the opposition or the playing conditions.
"The secret to Test cricket is to treat it as if you are the best player in the world and everyone else has to dance to your tune," Swann said.
The experienced spinner expects a strong performance from Hartley and Bashir on pitches favouring spin and believes they have the capability to dismantle any batting lineup worldwide.
"We need big bowlers who are going to be effective on the pitches in India. Hartley and Shoaib Bashir are very tall bowlers. Hartley is six feet four and Bashir has longer fingers than Monty Panesar. They are fairly consistent as well and can be a handful," Swann said.
"These guys are in no way near as far behind as their Indian counterparts talent-wise. I would try and ram that home that if they truly believe they are good enough to beat these Indian players, they can do it."
Swann secured 20 wickets in three Tests during the 2012 series against India, while Monty claimed 17 wickets, contributing to England's victory in the Test series.
(Powered by AI, Inputs by India Today)
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