India vs England: Ben Stokes has a bullet-proof approach to cricket, says David Gower | Cricket News – Times of India

Batting legend Gower tells TOI why England have rediscovered their mojo
MUMBAI: If you feel like turning up the volume on your TV sets just a bit when India play England in Edgbaston starting Friday, don’t hesitate. David Gower is in town and his ready wit will be heard as he calls the action from the TV Studios of rainy Mumbai.
The England legend’s dry humour is evident during a zoom interaction when he talks about the weather back home. “I was speaking to a colleague in the UK and telling him I am in Mumbai and it’s raining all day and then I looked up the forecast at Edgbaston and it’s not so dry there too for the first couple of days. It’s not like Mumbai monsoons, but it will be damp,” he reveals with a smile, almost putting cold water on India’s plans, if any, of playing with both R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja for the one-off Test. “I have a feeling, they will play only Jadeja,” he quickly says.
Gower’s smile acquires added lustre when he speaks about England’s Test resurgence. “The combination of McCullum and Stokes has clearly changed something,” he says and marvels at McCullum’s man-management skills.

“When McCullum’s appointment was announced, people were wondering what his qualifications were. They are now apparent. He has a gift of getting into people’s heads and making them feel better,” he stresses.
Gower also attributes Stokes’ approach and a return to common sense selection as the reason for England’s recent success. “Without taking Joe Root to court, he is a different type of captain to Stokes. Stokes has a bulletproof approach to cricket. He will make mistakes, but so far most of his moves have seemed to be the right ones.
“With regards to selection, when we have a world that is heading back to normal, and all your resources are available, then my view is as straight forward as McCullum’s. Pick your best side for each game. This idea of playing a couple of games and being rested even when there is nothing wrong, doesn’t make sense,” he says hinting at the flawed strategy employed by the earlier regime of Root and Chris Silverwood, which hurt England.
Gower quickly turns his attention to India and while experts feel illness and injury to key players and generous rust in their games may stop them from performing optimally, he warns that the reserve players have a lot of skill. “If you are England, you will hope to take advantage,” he says. “But if you look at this Indian squad, there is a lot of talent among the reserves. Look at the way they played in Australia. One should be wary of reserves because they have the talent and the spirit to make the most of it.”
Having been involved in series involving one-off Tests, Gower talks about how it affects the mindsets. “It’s never perfect,” he stresses with a pregnant pause and says he would have loved it for the series to have been completed the year before. “Had they managed to play this game 10 months ago, you had a perfect situation where if India either drew or won at Manchester, they could win the series and if England won, they could have squared it.”