The bowlers play an important role in the longer format, and a team cannot win a test without taking 20 wickets which needs the bowlers at their best. There is nothing better for a swing bowler than taking the new ball in English conditions, and the batsmen have the real test of their quality in places like England. India and England have a quality seam attack that can threaten any batting order, and it won’t be a surprise if they get the job done quickly.
The line and lengths are key for any bowler, and getting it further up near the batsman will always yield good results for the seamers in conditions like England. Unfortunately, India has generally struggled in swinging conditions against England seamers, and their batting efforts in the previous two tours have been combinedly poor, which is a major setback.
Let us look at five bowlers who can end up as the highest wicket-takers in the India-England series with all that in play.
#5 Ravichandran Ashwin:
Ravichandran Ashwin is ranked second in ICC test rankings for a reason, and he has a point to prove in English conditions. He is going to be India’s primary spin option and is almost unplayable in the home conditions. He played a county game for Surrey two weeks back against Somerset and managed to pick up six wickets in the second innings in his 15 over spell. Such has been the impact of the off-spinner in the longer format, and he runs through the batting order so quickly.
Ashwin has some stunning numbers in tests against the left-hander, and he loves bowling to them. He provided the first breakthrough for India in the World Test Championship final while bowling to the left-hand openers, and he is a class act. Ashwin is the only spinner in the list of contenders for ending up as the highest wicket-taker in the series.
#4 Stuart Broad:
Stuart Broad has been in and out of the side of late due to injury concerns and the bio bubble fatigue, but he is expected to play a big role for England in the bowling attack. Broad has a tremendous amount of experience, having played 148 tests for England, taking 523 wickets at an average of 27.7. However, his journey from a rookie to a veteran cannot be explained with the mere numbers.
The 35-year-old generally is hard to stop when he gets his rhythm going, and he gets those fast leg cutters into play for the right-hander in the home conditions generally. Broad is a consistent wicket-taker, and this could be his final home series against India, considering the age factor. He would be hoping to have an excellent series with the ball, and he definitely is one of the contenders to finish as the highest wicket-taker in the tournament.
#3 Ishant Sharma:
Ishant Sharma is the most experienced pacer in the Indian bowling line-up, and he has been a different bowler in the last few years, showing enough signs of maturity with his consistent lines and lengths. He is almost assured of a place in the playing XI unless he is injured, and he has been taking the new ball for India alongside Jasprit Bumrah.
The tall seamer from Delhi possesses a vicious in-swinger, and he has been consistently keeping the batsmen on their toes by bowling a tough line. He had the best average among the Indian seamers in the previous World Test Championship, and he will be looking to take some leaves out of his brilliant spell at the Lords in 2014, which won the game for India.
