Pune (Maharashtra) [India], January 30 : As England prepares for the fourth T20I of the five-match series against India at Pune with an aim to level the series, an extremely key task in their hands will be to prepare for deadly spin trio of Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi and Axar Patel.
With the series at 2-1 in favour of India, England will have to do well against the Indian spin to have a better chance at squaring the series. So far in the series, 18 out of 28 England wickets have fallen to spin, as per Wisden. Harry Brook, hailed as the future superstar and mainstay of England Test batting, has looked terrible against spin, getting dismissed by Varun twice and Ravi once. Brendon McCullum, who took over as white-ball coach starting with this series, has not been able to showcase the attacking brand of cricket that earned him success with the Test side as a coach.
Both the teams have had issues against spin as of late, with both sides facing all-time low moments in their Test cricket last year due to spinners. While India's superstar-filled batting line-up was exposed against spin by Mitchell Santner and Glenn Phillips during a shocking 0-3 loss to New Zealand at home, England succumbed to the spin duo of Sajid Khan and Noman Ali just after bashing their pacers left and right during the first Test against Pakistan away from home, losing the series 1-2.
But it is England's problems that are a main concern as of now. Six of their last eight Test losses have come in Asia. Besides losses to Pakistan, England's 'Bazball' school of cricket was taken down to the mat by an Indian spin trio of Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin as they lost the away series by 1-4.
Their T20 World Cup defence last year was put to a sad end by spinners Axar, Kuldeep and Jadeja, who all took a combined 6/58 in 11 overs while defending 172, bundling out England for just 103.
While India's spin struggles are more evident in Test cricket, England has struggled against Indian spinners across all formats. With the T20 World Cup coming to India and Sri Lanka, England has plenty of time on their hands to settle their problems against spin, as a look into the team's top seven's numbers against spin in T20Is does not reflect a nice image for the team so committed to playing an attacking brand of cricket.
Skipper Jos Buttler and Ben Duckett have fine numbers against spin, with the captain having made 1,409 runs at an impressive average of 42.69 and a strike rate of a solid 140.90 against spin. Duckett, in his 15-match T20I career so far, has showcased impressive game against spin, scoring 207 runs at an average of 34.50 and a strike rate of 146.50. Even during the previous T20I at Rajkot, he took down spinners well, scoring 27 runs against them, with three fours and a six during his knock of 51 runs.
But Brook's spin numbers are genuinely poor for someone hailed as a next-generation great. His numbers against pace are elite-level, with an average of 52 and a strike rate of 165. But against spin, he has made just 274 runs at an average of 16 and a strike rate of 118. His middle-order partner, Liam Livingstone, known for his six-hitting, has even worse numbers, 268 runs against spin at an average of over 22, but a shockingly sub-par strike rate of 108. This was boosted by his three sixes against Bishnoi during the previous T20I.
Even Phil Salt, who has three T20I centuries and a strike rate of above 163, has fared better against pace. Against spinners, he has made 346 runs at an average of 28.83 and a strike rate of 134.63. But the right-hander is more known for attacking pacers right away.
In their short careers so far, Jamie Smith and Jamie Overton have fared poorly against spin, averaging 14.00 and 3.00 and striking at 175.00 and 66.67 respectively.
The question is, what could be England's way out of their spin troubles? Ashwin, who tormented the Three Lions in the home Test series this year, has backed star batter Joe Root, a Test-exclusive batter these days, to play T20 WC 2026, who has had fine numbers in India.
Root is the third-highest run-getter in the ongoing SA20 league in South Africa, with 279 runs in eight innings at an average of 55.80 and a strike rate of 140.20. He has scored three half-centuries, with his best knock being 92 against Pretoria Capitals.
Root has had considerable success as a T20I batter for England, having made 893 runs in 32 matches and 30 innings at an average of 35.72 and a strike rate of 126.30, with five half-centuries to his name and best score of 90*. He last played a T20I for Pakistan in May 2019.
In 10 T20Is in India, Root has scored 375 runs in nine innings at an average of 53.57 and a strike rate of 128.86, with two half-centuries. His best score is 83. His most notable success story was the T20 World Cup in India back in 2016, ending as England's top run-getter with 249 runs in six innings at an average of 49.80 and a strike rate of 146.47. He scored two half-centuries, with the best score being 83 in 44 balls, with six fours and four sixes, which helped England chase 230 runs against South Africa.