England batsman Ben Duckett will have something to prove when he travels to India for the five-match Test series starting on January 25. In a recent interview with Sky Sports, the 29-year-old stated that he is more than up to the challenge and ready to face whatever the Indian bowling attack throws at him.

This will be the second time Ben Duckett has embarked on a Test series in India. The previous one came in 2016, when England were beaten 4-0 by the hosts when Sir Alastair Cook was captain of the Three Lions. Duckett had a series to forget and in his own words, he claimed it was the first big setback of his career at the time.

But he believes he has come a long way since then and his game has improved a lot. Knowing that spinners will feature heavily in the series, Ben Duckett stated that he has gained good experience playing on similar tracks and that he knows what to expect this time.

“What they throw at me won’t be a scare” 💪

Ben Duckett remembers his performance in the 2016 Test against India and what he learns that he will take into the next England series 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/UniRUiHnuF

– Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) January 15, 2024

During his last stay here, Duckett returned to England with 18 runs in 3 innings in 2 Tests at Rajkot and Vishakhapatnam and was eventually dismissed for the next matches. The biggest problem he had was his relaxed technique against spin.

I used to play half-shots and half-bats against spin that also came off the leg stump, away from the line of the ball. Ravichandran Ashwin took great advantage of the technical error from him, but when the series starts this year and if he gets the chance, he will have redemption in mind.

Ben Duckett will also be keen to forget the memories of 2016, which he believes were the reason he was able to improve.

“Maturity is very important for me in those years. I have played a lot of cricket since then and have learned a lot along the way. That (2016) was my first real setback and I had to go away and deal with it. The biggest change is that this time it won’t be a surprise what they throw at me, I’ve played in those types of pitches and I know exactly what to expect when it comes out. It was a really difficult moment. So I can learn from how I did there.” – said Ben Duckett about what he learned on the previous tour of India.

Ben Duckett praises Ravichandran Ashwin, calls him exceptional in Indian conditions

Former England captain Nasser Hussain asked him what he could have done differently on his last tour of India and Ben Duckett ended up giving a shocking answer. He claimed that he was surpassed by India’s Ravichandran Ashwin and termed the player exceptional in all types of conditions.

“It was a different team led by a different management and, to be honest, I feel surpassed by that, in my opinion, the best player in history in those conditions. I looked up and I wasn’t the last left-hander who struggled against Ashwin, who is so good in those conditions, he is so good everywhere. It was just a learning experience for me, the way I see a lot of left-handers playing against spin when their hands go to the leg side because in England they don’t spin as much.”

Meanwhile, the first Test will be held on January 25 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.