Hyderabad: India head coach Rahul Dravid’s words contained a mild warning to the England camp when he said the pitch for the first Test would offer assistance to spinners as the game moves on.
Ahead of the first Test starting here from Thursday, the 22-yard trampoline here spotted a dry look, especially from the good length area on either side of it.
“Hard one to say (nature of pitch). We will have a look once it (match) starts and figure it out. It looks a good one from what I’ve seen,” Dravid began his statement during Tuesday’s media interaction in a rather mundane manner.
Then he added: “But may spin a little bit. How quickly and how fast, I’m not sure. But it might spin a little bit certainly as the game goes on.”
Fast bowler Mark Wood, on the other hand, admitted that the England camp has had a discussion about the nature of pitch but without creating a bedlam in their minds.
“We’ve discussed the pitch. But I wouldn’t say we discuss it at that length to worry about it. We have enough self-belief in our group that we can do something special. We’ve got spinners, we’ve got seam, we’ve got good batters and we’ve got a good recent history behind us.”
Wood, however, acknowledged that the England players will have to do well on the tracks on offer during the series.
“We know that this is a massive task. It’s not good coming here and rolling over thinking it’s going to be tough because the pitches are not what we’re used to. We have to find a way.
“We’ll adapt. We’ve got a captain who always wants to take the game forward. So, it should be an entertaining series,” said Wood.
However, that adaptation just might not be an easy process for the Englishmen.
“We’ve had enough time to prepare the pitch. There will be help for both batsmen and bowlers, but as the match moves on it will turn, but I think, these players are experienced enough to apply themselves and make runs,” said an HCA official, who did not want to be named, told PTI.
Bumrah absent from India training
Indian players hit the ground and sweated out earnestly here on Tuesday despite the training session being an optional one.
All the squad members, except pacer Jasprit Bumrah, attended the nets that lasted a little over two hours.
