“In terms of the Test match, it is obviously going to be exciting,” Dravid said on Sunday in Bengaluru. “For us it is a one-off Test match, but it’s WTC points. It’s a series on the line for the guys who played a part in it [last year], and they are very keen to try and win that series and do well. So looking forward to that.
“It is always lovely a Test match in England; the crowds are going to be fantastic. You expect really good crowds in England when you play Test cricket there. And England is playing really well at the moment. I mean they are playing really good cricket.
“It’s probably a bit different to when we were there last year when England was probably a little bit on the back foot. But they have played couple of good games [against New Zealand], and we have got a pretty good squad as well. Hopefully it will be a good match. [I] love watching Test cricket, love playing it, love coaching it. Looking forward to it.”
The India squad – barring those who featured in the T20Is against South Africa, and Dravid himself – arrived in England last week, and will play a four-day warm-up in Leicestershire starting Thursday. Compared to last year, when Ravi Shastri was coach, Virat Kohli was captain and Ajinkya Rahane was vice-captain, Dravid is the new coach now, Rohit Sharma the new captain, and KL Rahul the vice-captain, although there are question marks around his fitness for the Test.