England vice-captain Ollie Pope said his side won’t complain if India offer pitches assisting spin from the first ball itself during their five-match Test tour beginning on January 25, as he believed that it was up to the host country to prepare tracks that suited their players.

The 26-year-old Pope, a right-handed middle-order batter, did not shy away from the thought that the nature of pitches will be a hot topic of discussion during the series. “There will be a lot of outside noise. And pitches can be a massive talking point. But you have to remember the two teams are playing on the exact same wicket, so we just need to be as well-equipped as we can,” Pope was quoted as saying by The Guardian.