The highly anticipated five-match series is currently tied at 1-1, following thrilling victories by England and India in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam, respectively.
“As the home side, India should eventually win a tough series, but it has a real battle on their hands,” Chappell wrote in his column for ‘ESPNCricinfo’.
“England, under the aggressive leadership of Stokes, are a far cry from the poorly captained Joe Root team that capitulated against spin on their last tour of the country,” he added.
During their previous visit to India in 2021, England, led by Root, lost the Test series after clinching the opening match.
Although star batsman Virat Kohli will be absent from the series, the Indian team will receive a boost with the return of KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja, both of whom have been named in the squad for the remaining three Tests.
“India is a strong side and they also have a good leader in Rohit Sharma. They will be greatly strengthened by Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul’s recovery from injury, but that Virat Kohli will not return for the rest of the series is a blow.”
Shreyas Iyer has been omitted from the squad for the remaining matches of the series. The 29-year-old posted scores of 35, 13, 27, and 29 in the first two Tests, failning to capitalize on his starts.
“Hopefully the selectors will now stop overestimating Shreyas Iyer’s batting ability and learn to value Kuldeep Yadav’s wicket-taking capability more.
“This India versus England contest is shaping up as it should: a tough five-match encounter between two talented sides,” Chappell added.
The third Test is scheduled to commence in Rajkot on February 15th.
(With PTI inputs)
