"Spinners selected gives us best opportunity to beat India": Ben Stokes

Long before the debutant spinner Tom Hartley bowled visitors to the dominant win against India in the first test match England skipper Ben Stokes had said that the spinners picked for the series gives us the best opportunity to humble India in their backyardPlaying just his first match in the longest format of the game Hartley picked seven wickets in Indias second innings to guide his team to a 28run victory against the hostsI think sometimes inexperience can be looked at into a bit too much Theres no doubt that experience makes players feel more comfortable and settled especially in this environment Stokes said in an interview with JioCinema when asked about his approach behind selecting spinners just before the start of the series openerAlso Read Avani eyes one more shot at iconic Womens Amateur Asia Pacific titleHe added But the spinners weve selected on this tour are ones we think will give us the best opportunity to beat India For me its not just about the spinners but understanding the talent they have and allowing them to go out there and express that talent and giving them the platform and the best possible opportunity to not worry about the outcome too much and focus on what cricket actually isBefore the start of the fivematch test series between India and England there was a bit of chatter about the inexperienced spin unit of visitors but skipper Stokes is not one to read much into the analysisAs a bowler your job is to think about taking wickets As a batsman its about going out there and scoring runs Anything more than that is overcomplicating it Im just taking away that fear and anxiety around the outcomeNo team has beaten India in India since 2012 when England under Alastair Cook emerged triumphant after losing the first Test and that is not lost on StokesOn the challenge of beating India in India England skipper Ben Stokes said India is a hard place to come and win a game never mind a fivematch series Its been a mission for any team whove come here to turn over India We understand that and respect thatBut again it comes down to opportunity Weve got an amazing opportunity ahead of us The squad weve picked from spinners to our seam bowlers to our batters I think its going to give us the best opportunity to win a series in India Having led the country to some fines wins since taking over Test captaincy from Joe Root Stokes says he never aspired to be a leaderAlso Read West Indies pacer Shamar Joseph sidelined from ILT20Its something I never had any aspirations to do or really thought about too much to be honest I never really had too much responsibility around captaining or anything either in agegroup cricket or any other levelI had a little taste of it with the Durham Academy This opportunity presented itself to me and it was something I couldnt turn down Its a role I have grown into its a role that Ive really enjoyedI love everything that comes with it the responsibility of looking after people from different types of angles Whether it be out in the field or away from the field Understanding different individuals and personalities because in a team sport you have got a lot of people and not everyone is the same Thats helped me mature as a personWhen the discussion turned to bazball he said the team tries to stay away from the term Its a phrase that was created by the media Something that we try and stay away from It just came from what we have managed to do over the last two years and how weve playedWe dont necessarily like it Baz coach Brendon McCullum hates it Whenever that word pops up we just try to say thats how England plays Test cricket Stokes saidSpeaking about the test cricket England skipper Ben Stokes said that it remains the pinnacle of cricket for him Im from that mould of cricketers who have fortunately been able to go through the transition of where cricket is Test cricket in particular is where its all up for meIts my favourite format Part of that is because of how much hard work you have to put into it to come out a winner When Test matches go five days and youre sitting in the changing room after winning that game theres nothing more satisfying than looking back on the five days and how much hard work youve had to put in to get that moment Test cricket for me is the pinnacle of cricket regardless of where cricket has transitioned to England skipper Ben Stokes saidWith PTI Inputs