Cricket-Opener Burns says England bracing for 'unique' Bumrah

By Amlan Chakraborty

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - England opener Rory Burns finds Jasprit Bumrah a difficult bowler to prepare for but insists the tourists will not be found wanting against India's pace spearhead in the four-test series beginning on Feb. 5.

Bumrah has troubled the best of batsmen with his unorthodox sling-arm action and an ability to create angles to go with his natural pace.

"He's quite hard man to prepare for, isn't he?" Burns told a video conference from Chennai which hosts the first two tests next month.

"He's obviously unique in terms of how he comes and bowls.

"We'll just be working those angles ... seam and swing and those sort of things and try to replicate that as best as we can."

England are fresh from their 2-0 series victory in Sri Lanka but face an opposition who are on a high after their epic 2-1 series victory in Australia earlier this month.

India were without regular skipper Virat Kohli in the last three tests in Australia and lost several frontline players to injuries and still pulled off one of the greatest series victories Down Under.

"I caught quite a lot of that India-Australia series and they're in pretty handy form," Burns said.

"That was not necessarily their first XI... and they still managed to get over the line in Australia which is testament to their side."

"So yes, it's going to be a big challenge -- India in their own conditions..."

Burns is set to reclaim the opener's slot after skipping the Sri Lanka tour to attend the birth of his child, and he declared himself "hungry to get going."

England skipper Joe Root will approach his 100th test having scored a double hundred and a hundred in his last two matches in Sri Lanka.

Burns had no doubt the 30-year-old would once again set the benchmark for the team.

"He obviously leads from the front, you've just seen that in the recent test series," Burns said.

"He's a leader by example, in terms of how he captains the team and how he wants the people to go about their batting."

(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Toby Davis)