‘May open with two spinners’: James Anderson

England’s James Anderson bowls left-arm spin as tweaker Jack Leach looks on during a net session at Ahmedabad in 2021. Pic/Getty Images

Veteran English seamer James Anderson says his team might be compelled to open with two spinners in the upcoming five-Test series against India as it looks for ways to counter the traditionally spin-friendly conditions in the host country.

The Three Lions have moved in with four specialist spinners in their squad - Jack Leach, Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir. Leach is the only one to have experienced playing the longest format in India. The series begins January 25 in Hyderabad and the English team is undergoing a training camp in Abu Dhabi.

The spin department will receive guidance from Anderson, Ollie Robinson and Mark Wood, who too have Test-playing experience in the country.

"There are only four seamers going, so we will not be expecting to bowl a huge amount of seam. It is just a slightly different role," he told ‘The Daily Telegraph'. "You might not bowl the overs you do in England, but they are still important. It probably puts more importance on spells you do bowl. These are the things we will pass on to the guys.

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"Reverse swing will play a big part. There might be occasions where we don't open with a seamer. We might open with two spinners," said Anderson, 41. Anderson has a good record in India, having claimed 39 wickets.

"The training I have done this winter, I feel like age is just a number," he continued. "...people will always look at my age when it comes up on the screen when I come on to bowl, but for me, it is irrelevant. It is how you feel as a cricketer, and I know I can still dive around in the field and put a shift in with the ball just like I have done for the last 20 years.

"I feel the last five-six years have been the best of my career. Although the Ashes did not go as well as I wanted it to, there have been many series when I have not bowled well throughout my careerand it is just a case of putting in the hard work to make sure it doesn't happen again," he concluded.

The English last won a Test series in India in 2012-13, while their previous tour in 2021 saw them lose the four-Test series 3-1, having won the opener in Chennai.

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