February 3, 2021: Mike Gatting, the former England captain, believes Virat Kohli and Ben Stokes will be raring to go during the upcoming Test series, which starts in Chennai on Friday. Both Kohli and Stokes are returning to their teams after a break. While Kohli returned to India after the first Test in Adelaide to be alongside his wife for the birth of their first child, Stokes was rested from the tour to Sri Lanka.

"I think it's going to be a fantastic series as Virat Kohli would want to make his mark and I know Stokesy (Ben Stokes) will do and a guy called Jofra Archer will like to make a point too," Gatting said in an interview on the Niche Sports YouTube Channel. "Stokes is a wonderful player and is probably a talisman - a bit like Virat Kohli," he further added. Mike Gatting on England’s Tour to India in 1984–85 Under the Leadership of David Gower (Watch Video).

Gatting has praised India for their tremendous performance in Australia. “For a team to do what they did - they lost their captain, got bowled out for one of the lowest totals ever and then to come back and win the series, it was just incredible," said Gatting.

Watch Video of Mike Gatting Speaking on India vs England Test Series:

At the same time, one must remember that England are coming from Sri Lanka, where they beat the hosts 2-0 in the Test series. "England played some good cricket in Sri Lanka. Again very well led like (Ajinkya) Rahane did in Australia. Joe Root played magnificently. You talk about playing spin well and he seems to have got himself into a good rhythm, he knows what he needs to do," Gatting remarked.

Gatting also pointed out that, "It's not often that you get to play a series where you have been playing spin and then go to another country to play spin. So, I think it's going to be a very interesting series."

England are in India to play four Tests – two of which will be played in Chennai and two in Ahmedabad. One of the Tests in Ahmedabad is a Day-Night game, the second such match on Indian soil.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 03, 2021 05:59 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).