The countdown has started for the high-voltage England vs. India 5-match Test series starting on Friday (June 20). India, without the services of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin, will face the host under newly appointed captain Shubman Gill.

Last year, the Indian team in the Whites was bamboozled by New Zealand and Australia and knocked India out of the equation for the World Test Championship's final (WTC Final 2025). India, with a new captain and new hopes, is set to start their new chapter in Leeds.

Ahead of the match, many cricket experts put England ahead of the traveling team as the favorite to win the series. But former Australia international and now cricket expert Matthew Hayden shared his thoughts in different ways. In Hayden's opinion, India will have a brilliant opportunity to defeat England, the host team, because they have multiple injury concerns, and he did not want to rate the current English bowling line-up highly.

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Hayden has trust on Indian batting line-up

"I don't think England bowlers are that good; they have got a number of injuries and a number of retirees as well. That will be the challenge. The northern Test matches, when it's zipping around, will be key. Win that one, and it could well be a series that goes India's way," Hayden said on Jio Hotstar. 

Even before the first Test at Headingley, Leeds, England, they will have to keep an eye on their multiple bowlers. Speed stars like Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, and Gus Atkinson are not part of the 1st match starting on June 20. England have picked Josh Tongue, Sam Cook, Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, and Jamie Overton as the five pacers in the squad for the Headingley Test.