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Cricket: India vs England Test series set to kick off in Hyderabad

The five-match Test series between India and England is set to kick off on January 25 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, with the next four matches to be played in Vizag, Rajkot, Ranchi and Dharamsala.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma was asked about England's 'Bazball' to which the 36-year-old said that they are more focused on what they can do as a team.

"We will look to play our cricket. I am not interested in how the opposition is going to play. I am focused on what we want to do as a team," Sharma said.

The skipper said that the win against South Africa in Cape Town was "good" and it gave them confidence.

He added that it will be challenging to play good and consistent cricket throughout the five-match Test series.

"In India, it is the first time that we will be playing five Tests. We always wanted to play longer series. It's going to be a challenge to play good and consistent cricket for 2 months," he added.

When asked about England's Shoaib Bashir's visa delay, Sharma hoped that he would get it quickly.

"I feel for him. He's probably coming for the first time. Not easy for anyone. Unfortunately, I don't sit in the Visa office to give you more details on that. But hope he gets in quickly and enjoys our country," he added.

While talking exclusively to ANI during ILT20 in Dubai, Billings said that English batter Ben Duckett will have a very good tour since he can play spin well.

The 32-year-old added that he loves watching Ashwin and Jadeja bowl.

"For England, the best player will be Ben Duckett because he is a very good player of spin, reverse sweep and sweep shot and I think he will have a very good tour. The biggest challenge for England will be Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, I love watching them bowl," Billings told ANI.

He added, "India is a fantastic place to play cricket and it is unique in its challenges with spin bowling, so it will challenging but I think for everyone in world cricket it will be a very exciting series to see how England come out from this," he added.

When asked about Bazball, he said that hopefully, it would work even though it would be a big challenge.

England Test squad for India series: Ben Stokes (C), James Anderson, Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Shoib Bashir, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes (Wk), Dan Lawrence, Tom Hartley, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood.

(ANI)

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