ENG v IND, 2018: Struggling players who have a lot to prove

India’s tour of England will kick off in a few days time. The Indian team has often found it difficult to thrive in the tough English conditions. Unlike the tracks in the subcontinent, the pitches offer a lot of swing for the pacers. Spin, which is India’s biggest strength playing in the subcontinent, doesn’t come in very handy playing in England.

Hence, India failed to do well in both the previous tours. They were clean swept 4-0 in the Test series in 2011 and were defeated 3-1 in 2014. Some of the best Indian players have had a very tough time playing in England. These players from the previous tours are a part of the Indian squad this time as well and have a lot to prove.

On the other hand, the England team has also had its own set of problems in the recent times. Some of their big guns have failed to deliver proving to be a matter of concern. These players have a lot at stake ahead of the tough series against India.

Here are the players who have struggled to do well from both the teams:

1. Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli is undoubtedly the best batsman in the world at the moment. The champion batsman has scored runs all around the world and is the backbone of the Indian team. Virat has quite a few records playing in overseas conditions. However, he has had a torrid time playing in England.

Virat was the part of the Test team that toured England in 2014. In the 5 Tests that he played, Virat has only managed to score 134 runs. In fact, players like Amit Mishra and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have a better batting record than him in Tests while playing in England. In ODIs, Virat scored 291 runs in 10 games against England in England. Overall, Virat has scored 495 runs in the 17 games he played across formats in England at an average of 23 and has a sturdy task coming up.

2. Alastair Cook

Alastair Cook was the captain of the England team when India last toured the country in 2014. He was one of the most important members of their batting line up then. Cook has always been the backbone of the England batting lineup. In 2014, 298 runs in 7 innings at an average close to 50. However, he hasn’t been in the same kind of form in the recent times. He has struggled with his consistency of late.

Although the statistics suggest that Cook is the second leading run scorer for England in the last one year, they do not reveal the complete information. Cook has scored 1,088 runs in 16 Tests from June 2017. However, he has scored two double centuries in this while. Almost 45% of the runs he scored in 29 innings just came in two innings. One of this double century came against a weak Windies bowling line up. Apart from this half-century, Cook scored half-centuries on three occasions. If you consider all these five innings, Cook has scored 65% of his runs in just as many innings. This is a clear indication of the inconsistency and struggles with form. He has a lot to do in the series against India.

3. Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma is currently the deputy to Virat in the limited-overs formats after MS Dhoni resigned as the skipper of the side. He has grown from strength to strength ever since he has started opening for India. Although he isn’t a regular member of the Test side, Rohit is second only to Virat in terms of the runs scored in the last few years.

However, Rohit too has had a terrible time playing in England thus far. Rohit has played only one Test match in England and only managed to score 34 runs in both the innings together. Sharma, who has been phenomenal in ODIs in the recent times has scored 61 runs in the 3 ODIs that he played against England in England. Overall, Rohit has played 5 games against England in England and scored just 96 runs at an average of 19.

4. Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes has evolved into one of the most important members of the English line up within no time. Stokes is a great asset both with the bat as well as the ball. Furthermore, he is a live wire on the field. However, just as he was going strong for England across formats, his career came to an abrupt hold after the Bristol brawl. England clearly missed this man in the Ashes this year. But, he made a come back on the tour of New Zealand.

However, Ben Stokes never looked the same player after he has made this come back. He played 3 Tests this year and only managed to score 150 runs. Further, he only managed to pick 3 wickets in these games. In the five ODIs that he played, Stokes only scored 147 runs and picked 5 wickets. He didn’t play a single T20I this year. Stokes will have a huge role to fulfil in the series against India and will have to prove his worth.

5. Cheteshwar Pujara

Cheteshwar Pujara has evolved into one of the most important batsmen in the Test lineup. He bats at the crucial No 3 position for India in Tests, a position where Rahul Dravid used to bat earlier. Pujara is currently ranked 6th in the ICC Test Rankings and has the ability to bat for long hours. Further, he averages over 50 in Tests. However, his records in England just don’t suggest that.

Pujara has a pathetic record playing in England. Pujara has scored 222 runs in the 5 Tests that he played in England at an average of 22.20. But, Pujara has been working hard to better his record in England. Pujara has played county cricket this year to acclimatise to the conditions. It will be interesting to see if the county stint helps him on this tour.