‘The thing to be worried about is…’ – Former player warns Indian cricket team about potential issues ahead of England tour

Former India batter Navjot Singh Sidhu has warned the Indian cricket team about a potentially dangerous tour of England. Team India players have linked up or set to link up with their respective IPL sides. The league begins on 22nd March and runs till May end. The first Test in the five match series between India and England is set to start on 20th June. 

The former India batter turned commentator has said that the conditions in England could catch India off guard. Sidhu during his chat on Sports Tak said “The thing to be worried about is that the IPL is now coming up next. No one is ready to sit out the IPL. They will play the league and then all of a sudden comes the England tour. Conditions will shift from North Pole to South Pole. Completely different”

“Moreover, India's last Test series in England had started on August 4. This time, it is ending on August 2. The matches are in June and July. There will be grass and moisture and the air will be so heavy that the ball will gain ample movement. And then it will move more off the seam. England are sitting ready at home in their conditions and they are like wounded tigers. They have been beaten and defeated,” said Sidhu while speaking about the conditions in England. 

Navjot Sidhu wishes Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel were part of India’s Test side

India’s former opener Navjot Sidhu also said that Team India could potentially be missing the quality that players like Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel have. Hardik last played a Test match in 2018 when India had toured England. Axar Patel on the other hand hasn’t been part of the Test side for a while now. 

Sidhu said on Sports Tak “India's biggest problem is that in the middle order there are no all-rounders the way you see in white ball cricket. Is there a Ravindra Jadeja, or Hardik Pandya or Axar Patel? There is only Jadeja among these three and even he will be limited there. Will he take 4-5 wickets in an innings there? No.” 

“For that you have to depend on someone like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, maybe Arshdeep Singh. You will have to bring a mystery spinner with all of them, that is England's weakness. But India won't expose Varun Chakravarthy. Or else they will play Kuldeep. So if these are your four bowlers, none of them bat. Then there is the problem of how to strengthen the batting order. These are the questions standing in front of India,” Sidhu ended by saying.