Karim who has played one Tst and 34 one-day internationals for India said, " If we compare both the teams then India will have an advantage. Bumrah will be India's main strength. Other pacers like Mohammed Shami, Siraj, Harshit Rana are also doing well. However we will have to work hard in batting department. On the other hand, England have no pacers like Anderson and Broad. Their bowling attack is fresh. Therefore, I think it will give an edge to India", he said.
About India's debacle in three-match Test series against New Zealand, Karim said he himself was surprised over the result of the series. " Even I had not expected this result. There is need to work hard in the longer format of the game. England series will be the tough challenge. Those Test players who are not playing IPL should immediately start the preparation for England series", he advised.
About future of Test cricket he said, " The board will have put some efforts to keep Test cricket alive. World Test Championship is one step in that direction. In fact in recent Test series against England and New Zealand I have observed a good turnout of spectators and that is a positive sign".
Karim also said it will be a huge challenge for the budding cricketer to prepare themselves to play in all three formats of the game. He also said that the IPL performance of the players has become important to get the entry in the national T-20 team and that is the not case with red ball cricket.
'Vidarbha players will be seen in Indian team'
When pointed out that even after winning the Ranji title for three time and performing well in other two format of the game, Vidarbha players are not getting an opportunity in the national squad, Karim said, "Vidarbha team is doing well in domestic cricket. They are not lacking anything to get selected in the Indian team. The selectors always watch the performance of the players. But at the same time it also important whether the slot is available for the players in the team. Wicketkeeper batter Jitesh Sharma is getting an opportunity and I an hopeful that Vidarbha players will definitely get the change to don the blue cap in coming days". The former wicketkeeper has also appreciated the performances of batter Karin Nair and left arm spinner Harsh Dubey.
BSC president Ramesh Thakur, Praful Nandedkar, Sharad Padhye, Ravi Joshi, Hemant Wasu and others were also present at the press conference.