England ‘can thrive in Test series in India’ 

Ben Duckett insists England can thrive in their forthcoming Test series in India despite criticism of the decision to arrive in the country at the last minute.

Ben Stokes’s side is training in Abu Dhabi and is scheduled to travel to Hyderabad three days before the first five-Test series begins on Jan. 25.

Pundits have said that is not enough time to acclimatise to Indian conditions, Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum have opted against warm-up matches for much of their reign.

And with the series already spanning seven weeks and no guarantees over the quality of the players they would come up against in warm-ups, England batsman Duckett is confident the decision will prove wise.

“There’s training every day, and we’re hitting thousands of balls, with the bowlers bowling to us,” he told the Sky Sports Cricket podcast.

“There probably are loads of spinners in India, but none of them are (Ravindra) Jadeja, Axar Patel, and (Ravichandran) Ashwin.

“You might face a 15-year-old off-spinner in the nets, but that won’t equip you for the first Test match.

“We’ve got quite a big squad with us, and there will be hours of training every day. In India you are pretty hotel-bound, the luxury of being in Abu Dhabi is you can get out and about for an extra 10 days.

“India can be a tough place to tour; everyone knows that.

“The mental side of the game is just as important, and I don’t think there are too many complaints from that squad who are having 10 days in Abu Dhabi rather than 10 days stuck in a hotel.”