IND vs ENG: 'Will be interesting to see Kohli take over after Rahane's triumph in Australia,' says Pietersen

Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli during a training session at MA Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai. Picture/ PTI

Former England cricketers Kevin Pietersen and Dominic Cork recently talked about the upcoming four-match Test series between India and England. Both former players feel India are favourite going into the series. Pietersen also said it would be interesting to see Kohli take over the reins of captaincy following Rahane's recent triumph as skipper against Australia. There are many dynamics to be considered and both feel this series is going to be an interesting one.

Speaking exclusively on Star Sports show Cricket Connected, former English batsman Kevin Pietersen highlighted why India are favourites since England haven't taken their best team, "India's got experience at home, they definitely do. They've got Kohli coming back….England has not taken their best team for the first two Test matches. I think Johnny Bairstow has to be there and I don't think he's going to be there. India are definitely favourites. 100% they're the favourites, because England haven't taken their best team or they're certainly not starting with their best team."

Kevin Pietersen went on to analyse the important storylines to watch out for ahead of the India-England Test series, "Kohli, Anderson, Ajinkya Rahane, how's he going to go, being captain in Australia and then coming back and Kohli, how's that dynamic going to work? It's going to be a very interesting dynamic. I think that might be, something that is talked about a lot during this series. Then you have got Jofra Archer, can he knock over Pujara? Bumrah's back… there are so many different permutations that could happen in this Test series, but I think there's going to be a very interesting story that's going to run through this series - Kohli comes back as captain after Ajinkya Rahane was so good in Australia. I know Joe Root has been outstanding in Sri Lanka, so he's clearly somebody who's going to come in with a lot of form. England's opening batsmen - have they got enough time to turn their techniques around? Sibley did well in the last Test match. Has Crawley got enough time to turn his technique around? Is Burns going to come back in? Ben Stokes is there, and he's an absolute super star. Is Anderson going to be able to do the business? Then, you have got Ashwin, Bumrah, Kohli, Rahane, Pujara…there are too many super stars for me to sit here and pick one player in particular. I just think that it's going to be a fantastic series - slow wickets, but two great teams!"

Former English cricketer Dominic Cork highlights why India is going to win the series against England, "I think India will win the series. I think England are in a better place now. England just beating Sri Lanka will help and having the likes of Stokes, Archer and Burns back in the squad will help but I still think that India are too strong and will win the series."

Dominic Cork also picked Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant as the young stars to look forward to in the India-England series, "We need to put two younger players into the Indian side. Shubman Gill, who Scott Styris has been banging the drum about Shubman Gill, but what a performance against Australia. He's obviously a talented cricketer, so I am going to pick him. Even though Rishabh Pant, I think he's got a major force to play in this series, especially with that superb innings in the last Test match to win the series against Australia, but for me, I am just gonna go the way Scott Styris wants everybody to go, is Shubman Gill, because he is such a superb young player and England will find it tough to get him out."

Cricket Connected now airs every Monday at 5 PM IST on the Star Sports Network from 08th February 2021. The show has cricketing legends engage with fans through video calls discussing a range of topics