England vs India: Hosts start as favourites but writing off visitors will be wrong, feels Sanjay Manjrekar

Former Indian batsman Sanjay Manjrekar backed Virat Kohli’s men ahead of the five-Test series against England starting August 1. He said that the visitors were better placed in absorbing the pressure than the hosts and one would write off the former at their own peril.

Manjrekar, who was the blue-eyed boy of Indian cricket till the arrival of Sachin Tendulkar and played five of his 37 Tests against England scoring at an average of 35.66, said despite their recent records in Europe (India have lost seven of their last nine Tests versus England in their den), India have an edge in this series because of their better ability to handle pressure and in terms of temperament.

“Still, don’t rule India out, because if it gets tight, this Indian team can come out trumps. For when it comes to handling pressure, temperamentally this team led and inspired by [Virat] Kohli, is far superior to the hosts,” the 53-year-old wrote in his column for ESPNcricinfo.

“Temperamentally this is one of the best teams India have ever had. We saw evidence of that in their last Test, against South Africa at the Wanderers earlier this year,” he wrote.

Last series win in 2007

Team India has won the Test series in England a few times and after wide gaps. Its last series victory in England had come in 2007 when Rahul Dravid’s boys won it 1-0. That victory had come after 21 long years since Kapil Dev’s team won 2-0 in 1986.

India’s bowling will miss two key pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah – both of whom have been sidelined by injuries.

While Kumar was not picked for the Test series, Bumrah would be available for the second Test at Lord’s, report said.

Manjrekar rued the fact that the Indian camp was hit by injuries which he felt made the hosts the favourites to start with. He also compared the current Indian cricket team with that of the 1990s, especially abroad when the team is very much dependent on one man – Sachin Tendulkar then and Virat Kohli now.

He, however, backed in-form KL Rahul as one of India’s vital weapon outside Asia. He criticised the team management for leaving out Rahul for the final ODI game which India lost to squander the series.

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