After the high-voltage T20I series, the focus now shifts to the 50-over format. While the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia is priority for teams to get their combinations right, the ODI World Cup 2023 in India is just around the corner.
Rested English players return
After taking a well-deserved rest after Edgbaston Test win, senior in-form players Ben Stokes, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow return to the squad. Root is not a regular in the T20I squad but England missed Bairstow and Stokes in the middle order. Root and Bairstow are in red-hot form and will be looking to replicate it in white-ball format as well with the ‘Bazball’ approach under coach Matthew Mott.
Big blow to India
Before the first ODI at Kennington Oval, London, Virat Kohli got injured. The former Indian skipper sustained a mild strain after the third T20I and is likely to miss the first ODI. In his absence, Suryakumar Yadav or Shreyas Iyer can be promoted up the order.
Debut for Arshdeep?
Left-arm fast bowler Arshdeep Singh made an impressive international debut against England in the first T20I. Opening the bowling with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep extracted much swing and troubled England’s top-order batters. It will be interesting to see if he gets to make his ODI debut on the tour straightaway or not.
Dhawan returns
The team management has made it clear that Shikhar Dhawan is not in their plans for T20I cricket. However, Dhawan is an indispensable part of the ODI setup. The left-handed opener is also charged with leading the Indian ODI side in West Indies later this month.
New templates
In the T20I series, Rohit Sharma-led side were seen adopting a new template where top-order players would look to attack. The new approach did not pay much dividends but it is yet to be seen whether it will be adopted in the 50-over format as well. On the other hand, England have proved to be menacing at home, posting huge totals on the board.
Big challenge for Buttler
The new limited-overs captain for England was unimpressive in the T20I series as he struggled against swing. Buttler especially failed to pick swinging deliveries from India’s new ball bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Batting in the middle-order in ODIs, the wicketkeeper-batter will walk into bat when it won’t swing much. The explosive batter will pose a challenge for India in the middle-overs, an area where they have struggled to take wickets of late.
England squad: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Jonathan Bairstow, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Craig Overton, Matthew Parkinson, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Phil Salt, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey.
India's squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, J Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh.
