Kohli: India will not underestimate England

The 19-year-old did not feature in the tour of Bangladesh, but will open the batting alongside Alastair Cook in the first match of the five-game series, with Ben Duckett dropping to number four. I think these kind of matches and series are something you play for.

“I probably shouldn’t have played that series – I wasn’t fit”. But he hasn’t played that much first-class cricket.

“You wonder about picking a guy at 19, whether he might be overawed, but he hasn’t been at all”.

“I don’t think injuries can hamper the proceedings”.

In the four years since, however, both spinners have rested their wrists and England landed in India last week with Moeen Ali spearheading the spin department.

The DRS, with all its component, will be employed for the first time in a bilateral series in India after years of resistance from the local cricket board which has agreed to accept it on a trial basis.

The Lancashire youngster is undaunted by what he agrees is perhaps the biggest challenge in cricket – trying to get a foothold for England against the world’s No.1 team and their table-topping bowler, Ravi Ashwin.

“The last time England were here no-one saw them winning and we hammered them (by 10 wickets in Mumbai and seven wickets in Kolkata to win the series 2-1) so let’s not get let’s not get too gloomy”. “So looking forward to getting out there for the first session”. England’s Test series victory against India back in 2012-2013 in the sub-continent really does not matter as they are yet to face this no.1 side in the world.

Broad has earned his status as a modern England great, with 360 Test wickets at the age of 30 and a clutch of match and series-winning performances. So I don’t know whether he will make the side when he comes back.

In the five-test series in England in 2014, Kohli managed just 134 runs at an average of 13.4 with the highest touching 39. “I said I don’t know, it could be two months which could be the end of this series or it could be six months or the next one or two years”, he said.

Apart from Indian Test skipper Virat Kohli, who scored a career-best knock of 211 runs against New Zealand, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane also contributed with decent scores.

His last Test match century came against West Indies in April 2015, which preceded a string of poor performances with the bat against New Zealand and Australia. You don’t have to necessarily go through a course for DRS.

However, that expansive future is some way off, and for now Hameed will rely on his defensive technique to occupy the crease in the sub-continent and try and accumulate enough runs to give England a solid base from which to launch their powerful lower order.