India vs England: Ollie Robinson working on emulating Mohammed Shami's ‘dead-straight seam’ in Test series

Abu Dhabi: Mohammed Shami landing his deliveries on perfect seam position is a work of art and no wonder England’s lethal weapon Ollie Robinson is hellbent on replicating the Indian maestro during the upcoming Test series starting 25 January.

The England team is doing a simulation of Indian conditions in Abu Dhabi and will reach Hyderabad on 21 January for the opening Test and Robinson, who was a net bowler during the 2021 series held in a bio-bubble, is expected to play a big role in the absence of the now retired Stuart Broad.

“I’ve actually been practising Mohammed Shami’s dead-straight seam,” he revealed.

“He’s one of the best bowlers for India. I was looking at Ishant (Sharma) as well — he played at Sussex for a bit and he’s done really well in India for quite a while. He’s tall, similar to me,” Robinson told ESPNCricinfo in an interview.

Robinson took 21 wickets in the first four Tests against India in England but the Indian tracks will pose a different challenge.

“You feel like you don’t know what you’re preparing for, which is a challenge I’ve not really had yet,” Robinson said.

The key is adaptability on sub-continental tracks.

“On this tour, it’ll be about being adaptable; look at the pitch a day or two before and assess how it’ll play, or try to get clues from the nets on the square. It’ll be a different challenge but one that I’m looking forward to because it’ll engage my cricket-nuffy brain.”

The ‘Kohli challenge’

Robinson dismissed Virat Kohli thrice in England and he is again looking forward to challenging the Indian great’s “ego”.

“You always want to play against the best players, don’t you? And you always want to get the best players out. Kohli is one of those. He’s got a big ego and I think playing on that, especially in India, where he is going to want to dominate and score runs, playing on the fact we’ve had battles in the past, is exciting.”

For him, a successful tour of India might catapult him into a different league.

“If I can have a big tour in India, then it should set me up for a while. If I do well, I can cement myself back in the team.”