The upcoming five-match Test series between England and India which is set to begin from June 20, will also mark the commencement of the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. Newly-appointed captain Shubman Gill will be seen leading the Indian team for the first time in Test cricket while Rishabh Pant will be acting as his deputy.
Lal believes that the bowlers can help India get to victory over England
Ahead of the much-awaited tour, former India cricketer Madan Lal expressed confidence in the Men in Blue's chances of emerging victorious. Notably, they haven't won a Test series on English soil since 2007 and thus, will finally be looking to break their losing streak with the upcoming tour.
"We will see what happens when the Test series starts from June 20, but India can perform well because we have the best bowling attack. If you have a good bowling attack, then you can win Test matches," Lal told reporters.
However, the 1983 World Cup winner also reminded Shubman Gill & Co. that they won't be able to win such a big series on the back of just one player. He further acknowledged Bumrah's importance to the squad but added that he alone won't be able to carry India to victory and will require the help of other bowlers as well.
"You cannot win such a big series on the basis of one player. Other players will also have to contribute Bumrah is an important player, he is the number one bowler, but other players will also have to take wickets," Lal stated.
With the series just a few days away, it will be interesting to see how the side lead by Gill manages to fill the massive void left by Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. This will be quite an important series especially for the young guns as they will be trying to impress the selectors through their performances in order to cement their place in India's starting XI in the longest format.
India squad for England Tests: Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (VC & WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.