Jason Gillespie assesses England’s bowling unit ahead of India tour

Former Australia international Jason Gillespie believes that England have named an inexperienced spin unit for their upcoming tour to India, which is slated to begin on January 25 in Hyderabad. Jack Leach, Rehan Ahmed, Shoaib Bashir and Tom Hartley have been called up as the specialist spinners for the series, but interestingly, the last two are yet to make their debut for the national team. Ahmed too has played just one Test match whereas Leach has represented England in 35 matches.

Gillespie reminded that multiple players in the Indian team can tackle spinners well and so, England need to keep their pace attack ready. He added that there are a lot of expectations from Bashir, who has done a decent job in domestic cricket. Meanwhile, with three pretty new spinners in the mix, the former cricketer believes that Jack Leach will have to step up and lead the department.

“Leach is going to have to be quite a bit more prominent in India, with Rehan Ahmed, a leg-spinner with a lot of potential but just one cap, and two new picks in Tom Hartley, of Lancashire, and Somerset’s Shoaib Bashir behind him. There is a lot of expectation on him heading into the first Test on Thursday, that’s for sure. It’s not as if Leach has played 70 matches, either. He’s played only half that, but because they have selected three frightfully inexperienced players, he is the main man,” Gillespie wrote in his column for The Daily Mail.

“Being lead spinner changes the onus on you as a bowler. And by the way, Indians are pretty decent players of spin. So what England must do is make sure their pace attack complements Leach’s slow left-armers,” he added.

Meanwhile, England have set up a preparatory camp in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) before arriving in India. The Ben Stokes-led side is expected to reach Hyderabad on January 22, three days before the first Test and might have two practice sessions to understand the Indian conditions.