'If India can't beat this England side, they should go home': Michael Vaughan ahead of 1st Test
With England grappling issues of their own, Michael Vaughan feels Virat Kohli's team should win the Test series, else simply 'go home'.
Former captain Michael Vaughan feels the current tour of England in India's best chance of winning a Test series on English soil. India last won a Test series in England back in 2007 and have since struggled in English conditions, losing 0-4 in 2011, 1-3 in 2014 and 1-4 in 2018. With England grappling issues of their own, Vaughan feels Virat Kohli's team should take the series, otherwise simply 'go home'.
"I'm going to put India under a huge amount of pressure. If they can't beat this England side, with the team that they have, on the back of winning in Australia (twice), on the back of the unfortunate incidents in in terms of Ben Stokes missing out, no Chris Woakes – his record in the UK is exceptional, no Jofra Archer… if India can't beat this England side, on the back of New Zealand winning here decently, they should go home, simple as that," Vaughan said on Cricbuzz.
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England have concerns of their own. Their top order appears weak with Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley not able to cement their positions. Besides, days prior to the start of the series, England received a big blow when star all-rounder Ben Stokes opted to take an indefinite break from cricket due to mental health. To top it off, England would be without the pace duo of Jofra Archer and Chris Woakes. With slightly fragile batting, Vaughan reckons India should pounce on England, especially given what they have achieved over the last 12 months.
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"I just think that this Indian side has got pretty much everything. In my view, across the world there are really good teams that can win at home quite consistently. There is only one team that I look at the moment that can win all round the world, and that is India. I think they have got absolutely everything in terms of skillset, leadership, drive… there aren't many teams that have gone to Australia and won twice on the trot. They have to do it," added Vaughan.
