Pace great James Anderson believes the new-look Indian team will prove to be a strong opposition for England in the upcoming five-Test series, despite the absence of their big stars in Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin.
India have lost several experienced players in the last few months. Rohit and Kohli quit Test cricket last month, while Ravichandran Ashwin had announced his retirement from the format in December and senior pacer Mohammed Shami was not picked for the five-match series.
The young Shubman Gill has taken over the Test captaincy, while the visitors have several inexperienced players in the uncapped duo of Sai Sudharsan and Abhimamyu Easwaran, while veteran Karun Nair is back in the Test team after eight years.
Anderson believes the first edition of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy will be a closely fought contest just like the enticing series in 2022, which finished in a 2-2 series draw.
"I think this series is going to be exactly the same. What you
"They have got a strong squad. They have got some really exciting players. England are trying to play a certain way, and I think it lends itself into an exciting series," Anderson was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.
During his illustrious career that spanned over 21 years, Anderson claimed more wickets against India than any other Test nation. He tallied 149 wickets at 25.47 in 39 appearances and played a valuable part in England's famous win in Mumbai in 2005-06.
Anderson was part of the victorious England, which triumphed in back-to-back series wins at home and away in 2011 and 2012-13. Despite his prowess, he has also been a part of five series defeats against India, with four of them away from home.
"After the Ashes, it is the series that England look forward to the most. I had some tough times in India. It is really a hard place to go. But we won there, which was a really special moment. Some of the battles we had in England were great. They have had some amazing players," he added.
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