India vs England: Ian Chappell calls hosts 'Unbeatable' due to Virat Kohli's return

The India vs England Test series is one of the most-anticipated cricketing events of the year which will also mark the return of international cricket in India post the COVID-19 era. Ahead of the high-profile series, there has been a lot of talk about team selections, favourites, strengths and weaknesses of each side. Cricketing pundits have been sharing their views and predicting their playing XIs for the India vs England 1st Test which is set to start on February 5 in Chennai.

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Ian Chappell opens up on India vs England series, calls home team 'favourites'

Now, former Australian captain, Ian Chappell has spoken in length about the upcoming contest and has also termed India as 'favourites' to win the series. In his column for ESPNCricinfo, Chappell wrote that after an exhilarating victory over Australia Down Under where they beat all odds, India's confidence will be sky high. He added that when one adds the name Virat Kohli to the batting order, the team suddenly assumes a bulletproof cloak. According to Chappell, after the additions of R Ashwin, Hardik Pandya and Ishant Sharma to the list of available players, the hosts take on an unbeatable appearance.

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Reflecting upon the top-order of both sides, Chappell reckoned that the hosts have the advantage because of their top three batsmen (Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara) being more technically sound as compared to England's top three of Rory Burns, Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley, who haven't been in the best of form recently. Speaking about the middle-orders, Chappell opined that Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant and the possible addition of Hardik Pandya have India well placed to take full advantage of any good start.

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He further said that England are similarly placed with Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler as their lethal weapons. Chappell stated that the possible return of Ollie Pope would add some dependability to the threatening nature of that section of the batting order. However, he admitted that Buttler's departure after the first Test and the possible return of Ravindra Jadeja to the Indian line-up will further strengthen the hosts and could be a worrying sign for the visitors.

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SOURCE: CRICKET.COM.AU