India great Farokh Engineer says England will be 'true test'

India legend Farokh Engineer has said the "true test" for the current Test side will only come when they tour England next year.

India have risen to the top of the world Test rankings under the captaincy of Virat Kohli but much of their recent success has either come at home or on the sub-continent.

Speaking at Old Trafford where Engineer played for Lancashire between 1968 and 1976, Engineer told AFP : "The present Indian team are very good indeed.

"Virat Kohli is an excellent captain, MS Dhoni is looking fitter than ever, Ravichandran Ashwin is one of the great off-spinners.

"We've got a very good team, they have been scoring a lot of runs against Sri Lanka, but the true test will be when they come to England.

"Don't get carried away by the performance against Sri Lanka, against Australia we are doing pretty well, but that's in India again."

Engineer, who is 79 and a veteran of 46 Tests for India from 1961-75, said next year's five-match series in England would "sort the men from the boys".

"India's real test comes when they go abroad, especially England. England is the true test for any cricketer and Indian cricketers are no exception," he said.

"You need a real sound technique to play in England where the ball moves about a lot more, both in the air and off the pitch. Your technique is really stretched to the limit , it sorts the men out from the boys."

India will be looking to win only their fourth Test series in England, the most recent came in 2007.