The Test matches, as wounded as they would have left the Indian team, would have to be left behind and way made for the ODIs to begin. Fortunately for India, there is a good period of more than a week for them to lick their wounds and get into mental and physical peak before they face England in what is the least favourite format for the home side.
India V England ODIs Preview: Indian Playing 11 Needs Balance Right - I
India will look to get the right playing eleven out on the park as they take on England in the five-match series in a bid to stall the rampaging hosts.
The five ODIs will follow the T20I on September 1 and will be played on September 3, 6, 9, 11 and 16.
A look at the team line-up will give you an idea of how badly the face of the Indian side has changed after the Tests. From the side that won the World Cup, there is no presence of their best batsman, Yuvraj Singh, best bowlers Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh and dasher Virender Sehwag – all of whom had rushed back home in the middle or at the completion of the Tests to attend to their injuries.
They are not coming back. So is Ishant Sharma.
Gautam Gambhir is in doubt as well. He had taken a nasty fall in the fourth Test match and while he battled hard through the two innings, the mild concussion made it impossible for him to run, let alone hit the ball hard. He has a good ten days to recover but the bigger question is whether his form would have recovered by then as well. Gambhir failed to get a single half-century in the Tests.
The inclusion of Rahul Dravid in the ODI squad seemed to have surprised the batsman more than anyone else – although those watching clearly seemed to have been jolted by his selection as well. Dravid promptly announced his retirement, but at the same time decided not to embarrass the selectors more than they already have been in this series by agreeing to play the games.
This will mean that he will be in the starting 11 through most games, pushing one of the younger man – mostly Parthiv Patel and Ajinkya Rahane both – out of the side. Hardly a recipe for success in this format of the game, especially given Dravid will not be able to field his favourite slips in the shorter version of the game.
If Gambhir gets fit, he should open the innings with Sachin Tendulkar, whose quest for the 100th international century will resume probably satiated in the ODIs, with Dravid walking in at three.
Continued to the second part here...
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