‘Pitches can be massive talking points,’ says England’s Ollie Pope ahead of upcoming India Test tour
Ollie Pope
England's red-ball vice-captain Ollie Pope has conceded that there's going to be 'outside noise' about the pitches on their upcoming Test tour of India. England will be playing five Tests on the tour which begins on January 25 in Hyderabad. The pitches have always been the talking point in India given their tendency to turn earlier than expected during the five-day games. The English vice-captain, however, asserted that they need to be well equipped for the same.
“There will be a lot of outside noise,” Pope said while talking to the Guardian.
“And pitches can be a massive talking point. But you have to remember the two teams are playing on the exact same wicket, so we just need to be as well equipped as we can,” he added further.
Also Read:New Zealand pacer Tim Southee creates history, becomes first player to take 150 T20I wickets
While the Englishmen are known to keep the pitches on the greener side for the swing, Pope said he won't be surprised if India's did the same to suit their strength.
“In England we might leave more grass on the pitch to suit our amazing seamers, so it’s no surprise if India do the same to suit their spinners. And I actually think low-scoring Test matches are pretty amazing to watch,” said Pope.
Notably, England had last won a Test series in India back in 2012/12 when they had beaten the hosts 2-1 in the four-match series. India have since won two home Test series but lost two as well in England. India's last Test series in England, however, ended in 2-2 draw.
After the first Test in Hyderabad from January 25-29, Vizag will host the second Test from February 2-6. The next three Tests will be played in Rajkot, Ranchi and Dharamsala from February 15, February 23 and March 7, respectively.
England squad: Ben Stokes (captain), Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes, Tom Hartley, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood
India squad (first two Tests): Rohit Sharma (C), S Gill, Y Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, S Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Avesh Khan
