England have more questions than answers in India, believes Jonty Rhodes

With just days left before the commencement of the five-match Test series against India, former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes believes that England, who recently tasted its first ever Test defeat against Bangladesh, have more questions than answers in the subcontinent.

The England cricket team led by Alastair Cook arrived in Mumbai on Wednesday from Bangladesh to engage the hosts commencing in Rajkot from November 9.

While India thumped New Zealand, England is coming off a dismal tour of Bangladesh where they suffered a humiliating loss in the second and final Test in Dhaka.

"England haven't had a great series in Bangladesh. So, they have certainly showed that they have more questions than answers in the subcontinent at this stage as a team. But they have been a strong team over the team, they have some quality pacers. I think they are missing a bit of experience, possibly. But they are a tough team to deal with," Rhodes told ANI.

"In T20 cricket, they have a few English players who are coming and making a mark in the IPL. But there is a different scenario in Test cricket. Five days is a war of attrition. You cannot just win one session in a day. You have to win whole sessions. So, I think that's where it would be interesting to see how the England team bounce back," he added.

Rodhes, who is considered as one of the most athletic fielder the game has ever seen, also insisted that India are tough side to beat, especially at home.

"India at home are a tough team. They have also become a good team touring away from home. A Test captain like Virat Kohli is definitely showing that he is putting in a lot of pride in performing away from home. You perform at home, it's only half the job done," he said.

This is the sixth five-match Test rubber between the two countries and first in the country since the 1984-85 series between the squads captained by Sunil Gavaskar and David Gower.

The last time England visited India in 2012-13, they won the Test series 2-1. And that was the last time India lost a Test at home, back in 2013.

England would tomorrow depart for Rajkot, where the first Test will be played. The other Tests will be held in Vishakapatnam (November 17-21), Mohali (November 26-30), Mumbai (December 8-12) and Chennai (December 16-20).

England squad: Alastair Cook (Captain), Moeen Ali, Zafar Ansari, Johny Bairstow (WK), Jake Ball, Gary Ballance, Gareth Batty, Stuart Broad, Jose Buttler, Ben Duckett, Steve Finn, H Hameed, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes.

India squad: Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Ishant Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Gautam Gambhir, Jayant Yadav, Amit Mishra, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha, Karun Nair, Mohammad Shami, Murali Vijay, Umesh Yadav, Hardik Pandya.