JOIN USIndian selectors’ decision to not include a spinner in the India ‘A’ team for the warm-up game against the visiting England might have irked many, but skipper Alastair Cook feels that his side is experienced enough to adapt to any situation.
“Anyone who has been there (to India) before knows there are a lot of net bowlers available to us and we can bat as long as we want against them and there are a lot of spinners we can face,” he said.
“We know what we have to do as a side in terms of playing spin from our experience earlier in the UAE (against Pakistan and Sri Lanka). We know we did not play spin very well at the start of the series in the UAE and we know we have got to start well in India and we are prepared to put the work in to do that,” added Cook as the English team prepares to leave for the tour of India.
The newly appointed BCCI selection committee, led by Sandeep Patil, chose not to include any spinner in the India ‘A’ team for the three-day practice match, starting November 3.
It was reportedly done with a purpose to utilise the home advantage to the maximum by not exposing the Indian spinners to the English batsmen and helping them get accustomed to the turning conditions before the real battle begins.
The team led by Suresh Raina features an all-pace attack, drawing criticism from former English cricketers.
Expressing his displeasure at the selection, former England skipper Michael Vaughan earlier tweeted: “India to play no spinners against England in the A team warm-up game ... if that’s what the game has come to???? Pathetic tactics.”