now is the time. Prepare the appropriate team combination for Team India Champions Trophy. During the ODI series starting against England from Thursday, the Indian team management will keep a close watch on it. This series is very important for some big players struggling for the form. Also, the fitness of players is also a big issue. The first match of the series will be played in Nagpur on Thursday. The match will start at 1:30 pm.
All eyes on Rohit-Kohli’s bat
Players like captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been struggling to score runs for some time and everyone will be eyeing their performance. Both these star players also played in the Ranji Trophy last month, but they also failed to fail. Now he will return to the format in which he maintained his dominance for years.
Both these veterans performed brilliantly in the ODI World Cup 2023. While Kohli scored the highest 765 runs in this tournament, Rohit (597 runs) was the second highest run batsman.
After losing to Australia in the final of the World Cup, these two players played in the three -match ODI series against Sri Lanka. Rohit had scored two half -centuries in this series, while Kohli could not perform any special performance. The poor performance of these two is also going into Test cricket, which started speculation about their future.
This final series before Champions Trophy
The series against England will be India’s final competition in Pakistan and Dubai before the Champions Trophy starting on February 19. Also, this series will also prove to be decisive for Rohit and Kohli’s career, who retired from the smallest format of the game after the T20 World Cup. For the Champions Trophy, the reshuffle in teams is still possible till 12 February.
Form is not a matter of concern of the team, the Indian team management will also have to be very proud of who will play the role of wicketkeeper from Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul.
Rohit and vice -captain Shubman Gill will start the innings. After him, Kohli and Shreyas Iyer will land, while the wicketkeeper batsman can be launched at number 5. After this comes the number of Hardik Pandya.
In the absence of Pant, Rahul took the responsibility of wicketkeeping in the ODI World Cup 2023. He scored 452 runs. In his presence, the team became a good balance, but his failure to rotate continuous strikes in the middle overs will be a matter of concern.
Indian batting order is full of right -handed batsmen and in such a situation, Pant brings variety in it due to being a left -handed batsman. He bats aggressively and in such a situation he can prove to be a trump card for the team.
The Indian team can get down with these two, but in such a situation Iyer will have to sit outside who has been making useful contribution.
Fast bowler Mohammed Shami and spinner Kuldeep Yadav from the series against England will also get a chance to match practice. Both of them are returning from injury.
Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah is not playing in this series due to back injury.
Varun Chakraborty ready for ODI debut
Spinner Varun Chakraborty has been included in the Indian team for his brilliant performance in the T20 series against England. He can get a chance to debut in ODIs here and continue to perform well and present a strong claim to join the team for the Champions Trophy.
The team management will also have to take a tough decision for the spin all -rounder. Ravindra Jadeja, Akshar Patel and Washington are beautiful contenders for this place. Jadeja has not played any match in this format after the final of the ODI World Cup 2023.
Teams for ODI series are as follows –
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill (Vice -captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jade, Washington Sundar, Akshar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana , Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakraborty.
England: Jose Butler (Captain), Harry Brook, Ben Docket, Joe Root, Philip Soul, Jamie Smith, Jacob Bethle, Bridan Cars, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Gas Atkinson, Saqib Mahmood, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.
15 -member Indian Squad for Champions Trophy: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill (Vice-Qetan), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravindra Jadeja, Akshar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jaspreet Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Washington Sundar.