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Monty Panesar (Source: Twitter)
India will face England in their first home series of the 2023-25 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle starting from January 25. It will be interesting to see if Ben Stokes and Co. stick to their 'bazball' style on spin-friendly pitches. Notably, the Men in Blue have not lost a Test series at home since 2013, so it will be a challenging affair for the English team in their upcoming tour.
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Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar were the heroes for England when they scripted history in 2012/13 with a 2-1 series win in India. Right-arm off-spinner Swann took 20 wickets in four Tests, while left-arm spinner Panesar claimed 17 scalps in just three games to finish among the top three wicket-takers in the series.
As England looks to repeat the heroics in the coming days, Panesar opened up about the challenges for the Three Lions. The former cricketer said that opener Rohit Sharma will be the key player for India. He also hailed the Indian captain as the "Don Bradman of turning pitches". Panesar feels that if England manages to keep Rohit quiet, they can gain the upper hand.
"Indian batters are attacking against the turning ball. They are a bit more fearless. The key man for India is going to be Rohit Sharma. He's the Don Bradman of turning pitches. His record is unbelievable. England have to get Rohit out early right through to have a chance of winning the Test series. If England can keep Rohit quiet, India will be going to Plan B. You then put the younger batters under pressure. That is going to be key," said Panesar.
Rohit boasts sensational Test record at home
Rohit has a spectacular home record in Test cricket. He has scored 2002 runs from 36 innings at an average of 66.73 with eight hundreds and six fifties. Moreover, the right-hander has amassed 345 runs in the four Tests of the 2021 home series against England at an average of 57.50 with a century and a half-century.
Earlier this year, Rohit scored a brilliant century against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on a challenging Indian batting track. However, in the recently concluded tour of South Africa, Rohit did not have a great outing as a batter in two matches. Of the four innings, his highest score was 39 off 50 balls. He will be eager to score big when India hosts England later this month.