Indian pace attack has enough firepower to make up for Bhuvi's absence: Gough

Former England pacer Darren Gough feels India have enough firepower in their pace attack to cover for the absence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah in the first Test beginning here on Wednesday Gough spoke about the different options available in front of skipper Virat Kohli in both pace and spin departments and remarked that Indias wellrounded attack is suitable for any pitch that is laid out in this ensuing series despite missing Bhuvneshwar for three Tests and Bumrah for the series openerBhuvneshwar is a big loss and he wasnt at his best during the ODI series because he was carrying an injury But India arent a side anymore that is dependent on one bowler Earlier they were dependent on Anil Kumble Javagal Srinath or Zaheer Khan that is no longer the case India are suited for all sorts of wickets and they look prepared and geared up for this Test series Gough told PTIToday you have to be on top of your game to beat India whether you are playing at home or away because they posses everything in their bowling attack Kumar gives you swing Bumrah is a skidding seam bowler Umesh Yadav can move the new ball as well and he has got pace Mohammed Shami is strong and hits the deck hard while Ishant Sharma has experience aggression and he can bowl lots of overs He reckons the spin attack too is lethal with the addition of chinaman Kuldeep YadavOn top of that you have three spinners R Ashwin is nearly unplayable in Indian conditions Ravindra Jadeja keeps taking wickets and Kuldeep Yadav has already proven himself in England Selection is not going to be easy and good luck to Indian team management especially in the spin department as someone will be upset when he is left out in Birmingham he saidUntil last week the United Kingdom was reeling under a heat wave and higher temperatures than normal meant that almost everyone is expecting batsmen and spin friendly wickets during this Test series with swing to play a minimal role While India opted for three spinners England too have done the unthinkable in opting for leg spinner Adil Rashid who had quit red ball cricket in February as well as bringing back Moeen Ali who picked 19 wickets against India in 2014 in their first Test squadThere has been a lot of debate about Rashids callup and while Gough said that it shouldnt have been so he added that England had no option He shouldnt have been picked in the Test squad because he decided to walk away from day cricket I was disappointed that he left Yorkshire in the lurch a little bit at the start of this domestic season I believe if he had worked a little harder with red ball he would have got his change in the Test side and become a regular Theres no doubt that he is Englands best spinner by an absolute mile But he was disappointed with the way it was going for him in FirstClass cricket said GoughGood wrist spinners reach a peak as they grow older and I think Rashid is in that league and he can be a Test regular now And you can see why he has been picked against popular opinion England could have gone in with Dom Bess and Jack Leach I dont think they can bowl out IndiaMoeen Ali was handy in 2014 and he is back With Rashid they should cause some problems Rashids issue is that he doesnt knock toporder batsmen out Will he turn the series Probably not but is he better than what we have already go Absolutely yes he said The weather has finally started turning in England Rain arrived in Chelmsford when the Indian team left and it was raining in London over the weekend as well It is anybodys guess then what sort of weather will persist over the next five weeksSwing or spin or both could be a factor at different points in this series As such instead of Virat Kohli versus James Anderson this could shape up to be Kohli versus Joe Root Root is a world class batsman and he shoulders the responsibility of this English Test side He is our plan A in Test cricket It will be a keen contest between him and Kohli but only to a certain degree as both sides have other batsmen who can make an impactYou look at the way Jonny Bairstow is playing iquest he is a terrific batsman and I expect him to have a great summer Jos Buttler coming in at number seven is going to be a handful for India If you dont get him early he can take the game away like Adam Gilchrist for Australia Ben Stokes is primed for a big series but he has a court case in the middle of this series which might not help Then there is Alastair Cook He is such a stubborn batsman He is the only batsman of his kind in world cricket at the momentHe will smack you for four through covers and then go into a shell If he doesnt get runs in this series I think he will retire Gough predicted Gough feels India need to sort out their top three with Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara struggling in the lead up to the series If you can afford to leave Rohit Sharma out of your side you know India are in a good position They have a great middle order batsman in Ajinkya Rahane and he played so well at Lords in 2014 I like how KL Rahul looks as well but Indias toporder looks a bit weak to me because Pujara hasnt got any big runs recently If they play Shikhar Dhawan then India should leave out Pujara and play Rahul at number threeThe focus will expectedly be on star batsman Kohli who had a poor run in 2014 India bat deep and lets not forget that this is a big series for Kohli personally He is a great ODI batsman and I am gobsmacked to see how he bats in whiteball cricket But India havent won a Test series here since 2007 and Rahul Dravid as captain got runs back thenSachin Tendulkar has always got runs in England Brian Lara has always got runs in England If Kohli wants to be counted in the same league as Tendulkar and Lara he has to get runs in England Then he has to go and get runs in Australia and come back here to score runs in the World Cup This is a big 12 months for Kohli and his legacy will be decided in the next year Gough addedAlso Read Dinesh Karthik Nervous As Well As Excited About England Test SeriesCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Except for the change in headline the story has been provided ASIS AS AVAILABLE without any verification or editing from our side Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever