Senior batters’ form, spin-heavy ploy the focus for India v England

India's ODI squad, with seniors Rohit and Kohli, faces pressure in a key series against England, testing spin-heavy strategies and pace concerns.

Nagpur: The Indian team travels with less baggage now, after BCCI’s recently-imposed restrictions, but being able to enter the field without any mental baggage will be of far greater importance.

The two senior pros, captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, are at the back end of their careers. (PTI)

While the T20 team has branched out and taken on a new look, India’s ODI squad still has many of the batters who toured Australia. Moving on will be vital for them and the team, more so with the two senior pros, captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, at the back end of their careers.

It wasn’t really a surprise that in the pre-series press conference, Rohit was reminded of his abysmal Test form and quizzed about his India future.

“What sort of a question is that?” he replied to one. “My focus is on these three games and the Champions Trophy, we will see what happens afterwards,” he answered to another.

England, India’s opponents in the ODI series starting Thursday, are more an extension of their T20I squad who were on show recently, except for the addition of Joe Root. Slightly different philosophies in squad composition aside, expect both teams to go equally hard.

The Indian selectors have trusted their experienced batting group to embrace the urgency that the modern game demands, just like they did 16 months back in the 2023 ODI World Cup. But there has been very little ODI cricket in between. Would that impact them in any way?

The three-match series will feel like a trial ahead of the Champions Trophy. Nagpur, Cuttack and Ahmedabad offer slightly different playing conditions to Dubai, where India will play all its games, and to Lahore and Karachi, where England play their Champions Trophy league games. But both teams will keep an eye on the dew with winter yet to fully retreat.

Spin Ploy

India have taken a punt by picking three spin-bowling all-rounders – Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar – in their squad. The idea of playing two in the 11 will be on trial in the series. Varun Chakravarthy’s late inclusion may also be to explore if there is room for a last-minute change; lean for his mystery over one of the spin all-rounders.

“I understand it was the T20, but Varun’s clearly shown that there is something different about him. The series presents us with an opportunity to play him at some stage and see what he is capable of. If he does what is required, then he is definitely someone who we will think about,” Rohit told reporters on Wednesday.

Success for India’s spin-heavy ploy will also be heavily contingent on Hardik Pandya’s bowling fitness. If the all-rounder can bowl close to 10 overs consistently, there will be lesser load on the spinners to do the heavy lifting in the middle overs. One way or the other, Indian think tank will be looking at the once boring middle-overs phase very closely.

With run-rates in 50-over cricket constantly picking up, the dilemma of picking more wicket-taking options for the middle overs against making a compromise for greater batting depth persists.

Pace Concerns

One area where there is no scope for compromise is pace bowling. Not to forget, India’s winning run in the last World Cup was set up by the pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj. Bumrah’s chances of recovering in time though remains slim. Siraj has been dropped for weaker skills with the old ball.

That means the onus will be on Shami, who is slowly regaining full fitness but still bowls with knee heavily strapped. Then there’s Arshdeep Singh, who may be India’s highest T20I wicket-taker but has only featured in eight ODIs. The third pacer with the squad is the high-on-promise but still uncapped Harshit Rana. Fair to say, there will be some anxiety in the think-tank about how the pace battery will shape up ahead of the Champions Trophy.

It won’t be long before India knows if Bumrah is indeed ruled out. “We are waiting for some updates on his scan, which are due to happen over the next few days, to have more clarity on where he stands,” said Rohit.

To fill the Bumrah-sized hole - a bankable star at any pont of the game - is near impossible. Whether it’s Hardik and the spinners in the middle overs or Arshdeep in the death overs, they would all be required to raise their game. All in all, there’ll be plenty to watch out for in what would have otherwise been just another bilateral series.