Time for Gen Next of Indian cricket to deliver

India start afresh in England after a gap of a few days, and this should have given them enough time to erase memories of the Test series. They played a few warm-up matches in order to get themselves 'properly cooked'. Sourav Ganguly writes.

India start afresh in England after a gap of a few days, and this should have given them enough time to erase memories of the Test series. They played a few warm-up matches in order to get themselves 'properly cooked'. Indians are the world champions in this format and need to leave a mark in the one-off T20 and the five-match ODI series.

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The biggest plus which has happened in the last few warm-up games is that India have got into the winning mode. Critics might say that these were mere 'side' games, but I'm of the opinion that winning, especially when the chips are down, matters a lot. You start believing in your ability.

Up to the youngsters
A new set of cricketers will take the ground for India, and because they have not faced the English onslaught during the Test series, they'll be mentally and physically in a much more stable condition. This is going to be a big series for Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane, as they'll have to prove that they are the future of Indian cricket.

India will be handicapped by the absence of Sehwag, and if Gambhir is declared unfit, it will be a big blow. Besides, they have already lost Zaheer, Ishant, Harbhajan and Yuvraj, who were an integral part of the world champion team.

My biggest worry is the bowling and fielding. Much will depend on Praveen and Munaf. Dhoni is trying his best to get RP Singh match-fit by making him bowl as much as possible.

England have never been a great one-day side. But after their Test success, they'll make every effort to beat the world champions. They are the current T20 world champions and will look to make a statement.

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