Zaheer Khan believes a month in England will benefit India in the Test series

What's the story?

Zaheer Khan, while unveiling the trophy of Pro Star League (an U-16 league in Mumbai), addressed the advantages of spending a month in England prior to the Test series. He believes that the three ODIs and three T20Is played by the teams, starting July 3rd, must help the boys settle in.

"July and August, I think, are the best months as it is going to be quite sunny and not overcast all the time,” said the former Indian pacer.

In case you didn't know...

The Indian team will tour England from July to September 2018. The tour will consist of three ODIs and T20s each and five test matches. They will also face Essex in one first-class game.

The heart of the matter

The Indian quick who won the series for the team in Nottingham, 2007 with the figures of 9/134 believes that the weather will play a significant role in the games. However, he thinks that playing more of county cricket is upto the players' discretion, as they've all played in England and are aware of the conditions.

Zaheer added that he is happy about the young pacers cropping out of the IPL. He mentioned that there are many youngsters who've already made a name for themselves on the international scene while a bunch more would add to the bench strength.

Another thing that has delighted the legendary pacer is the execution of knuckle-balls by the youngsters. Since the batsmen find it difficult to play that ball, the increasing success of its delivery is definitely a sign of improvement reckons Zaheer.

What's next?

The Indian team will play one test match with the Afghanistan team in Bangalore, and visit Ireland for two T20s before the England series ensues.

Author's take

Given the 2014 series' disaster, the pressure of winning the upcoming one has been increasing exponentially with each passing day. The skipper who has a shoddy record himself in England, is eyeing a stint with Surrey.

There are other players investing their time in the County Championship as well, like Ishant Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara, after IPL closed the doors on them. Thus, playing the white-ball matches before the Test series, along with specks of County experience must benefit the Indian team.