'Play with a straight bat': How England can tackle India's spinners

'I can only advise the England batters to play with a straight bat.'

The best of preparations are not enough to counter the rank turners in India and over the course of the upcoming five Tests, England batters will also have their task cut out while dealing with the odd ball that doesn't spin, something that contributed to their dramatic downfall in their previous trip three years ago.

After a shock loss in the opening Test, the Indian think tank went for raging turners in the next three games in the 2021 series, and got the desired results.

Ravichandran Ashwin got the most wickets in that four-match rubber with 28 scalps and left-arm spinner Axar Patel more than made up for Ravindra Jadeja's absence by running through the England line-up in his debut series, collecting 27 wickets in three games at a staggering average of 10.59.

While the clueless England batters anticipated every ball to turn square, Axar got a major chunk of his wickets by darting the ball into the stumps, resulting in 13 bowled and lbw dismissals.

The low bounce on those pitches also helped his cause as the batters had no answer to the skidding delivery.

The approach of the England batters is expected to be completely different in the upcoming series, and trust them to take the attack to Ashwin and Co. But will that be enough to negotiate the non-turning ball?

"It is going to be difficult against our spinners, hope it is a well contested series. I can only advise the England batters to play with a straight bat," said former India skipper Dilip Vengsarkar, who was a master at playing spin.

A tight defence did wonders for Kevin Pietersen in 2012, the last time an away team won a series in India, but one is not sure if the 'Bazball'-influenced side will rely too much on defense.

"Getting runs is just going to be a fluke without a defence," Pietersen told The Times recently.

"It's about learning not to commit yourself on to the front foot; about waiting to pick the length of the ball, so you are not playing only with your hands.

"To do that, the drill is to hit any ball, wherever it pitches, through the off side. I'd spend time in the nets just defending; it's actually not negative to defend. The ability to defend gives you the confidence to be able to attack.

"Defend; play straight lines, don't plant your front foot; wait for the ball; don't play just with your hands. If you can do that and you have the wherewithal to be able to commit to a solid defence and trust it, then it allows you to loosen up," that was Pietersen's advice to Stokes' men.

Besides Pietersen, another Englishman who plotted India's downfall back then was Monty Panesar, who, alongside Graeme Swann, got more out of the Indian conditions than their counterparts.

Panesar, who himself had a deceptive straighter one, said the only way England batters can succeed against Indian spinners is by attacking.

"It is going to be difficult. It is very difficult," he said when asked about preparation for the ball that doesn't turn.

"The Indian spinners all complement each other well. Jadeja bowls quick, gets sharp turn, Axar probably sets the batter up for the non turning delivery. I feel England will have to go after Axar.

"If England meet aggression with aggression they set the intensity. Try to hit a few boundaries, a few reverse sweeps, it will be interesting to see what Axar does next.

"His record is phenomenal at home and he is yet to be put under pressure. It will be good to see how he reacts when the England batters go after him," said Panesar.

• England's tour of India 2024