London, July 12: ‘The Wall’ of Indian cricket, Rahul Dravid has picked Graeme Swann and James Anderson as the key bowlers for England in the forthcoming Test series between England and India starting on July 15 at Lord’s.
While speaking to the ‘The Cricketer’ magazine, Dravid observed, “James Anderson has bowled really well. He’s been the trump card. Obviously Graeme Swann is a top-class spinner. We first saw him in England bowling here last time […]. He’s come on leaps and bounds from then and has become one of their lead bowlers. Swann and Anderson are the key.”
Explaining why he rates Swann so highly he said, “He’s an attacking bowler and that’s one of the things that is different. He’s not just looking to contain, he’s looking to take wickets. He’s not scared to toss the ball up and gets turn with good sideways spin. It will be a good contest against batsmen who are good players against spin, who will not be scared to take him on.”
Many believe the forthcoming tour to England to be a true test for the buoyant Indian side, sitting atop the ICC Test rankings. “All series are important series. But this one is important because it’s a series between two teams that have had good recent records, which gives it a bit more context. We won in England last time, so from that point of view England will want to do better this time,” Dravid observed.
He also pointed out that in order to repeat their series win of four years ago, the fitness of India’s fast bowlers was critical. “It’s a hard one to call. England are playing at home, so they have that advantage. We’re a good side, a settled side, and we’ve been playing good cricket over the last couple of years. If we can keep our fast bowlers fit, then we’ll be very competitive,” he felt.
Led by Zaheer Khan and a resurgent Ishant Sharma and with the services of a promising Praveen Kumar, India’s pace battery has the wherewithal to trouble England’s batting line-up in conditions they would relish.
The redoubtable batsman, who was the batting mainstay against West Indies and top-scored for India in the Caribbean, stated, “I’m really proud that India is the No.1 Test team. I’ve seen Indian cricket since 1996 and to be part of this journey and to see India become the No.1 Test team – not just for a short period of time because we’ve now been there for more than a year – it’s something I’m very proud of.”
