Challenge Kohli, Vaughan’s message to England

Be angry and challenge Virat Kohli, urged former captain Michael Vaughan to an English side hosting an ambitious India, for long seeking to shed the poor travellers’ tag. The 43-year-old who opened for his country for almost a decade, wants Alastair Cook to show consistency and skipper Joe Root to convert his starts into monumental knocks. Vaughan goaded the pace duo of Stuart Broad and James Anderson to “step up and challenge Virat Kohli’s front foot”. “You need his front left-foot going over to the off side, he then starts doubting where his off-stump is and playing squarer on the off side which is when the outside edge comes into play. “England did it in the one-day series at times. He was vulnerable a yard outside off-stump and Anderson and Broad have to hang it out there and say ‘Come to us’. If there is any movement in the air they will be a real threat.”

: India’s build-up to the Test series in England has been dominated by talk about toporder batsmen and spinners, but as the teams gear up for the first game under a grey Birmingham sky, pace could be the key to unlock a shaky home team.

Skipper Virat Kohli sees 2018 as a great opportunity to show India can hold their own away from home and coach Ravi Shastri has said there would be no let-up in the hunt for victory, even if results don’t always come.

India’s pace bowlers have a great opportunity to deliver on the fiery quotient. In South Africa early this year, India bowled out the hosts in each of the three Tests as Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar shared 39 wickets.

As Bumrah nurses a thumb injury and Bhuvneshwar a back stress, India have the depth in pace to hurt England’s inconsistent batsman. The big question India must address is whether to play two spinners, and include young Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav with off-spinner R Ashwin, or play three pacers in Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami to go with all-rounder Hardik Pandya.

Kuldeep has played only two Tests but has the X-factor as a wrist spinner, always a wickettaking option, and can trouble an England that relies on Alastair Cook and skipper Joe Root.

Rain in Birmingham at the weekend and an overcast sky on Monday morning with showers forecast for Tuesday too makes it tricky and bowling focus could also address balance in batting.

BIRMINGHAM: BIRMINGHAM