As India get ready for the shorter version series against England, whom they outclassed in the five-match Test series, the experts have already started discussing of the combinations the home side is going to experiment. Because India will have only three one-day matches to play before the all important Champions trophy, which is slated for June 1- 18 in England.
As the one-day and t-20 series end Australia will come to India and they will only play Test matchs and then of course the players will be busy playing the mega IPL from April 3 to May 26.
The selection committee headed by former Indian wicket-keeper batsman MSK Prasad have chosen a very balanced team, mainly keeping the Champions trophy in mind. Yuvraj has been brought back for both 50-50 and 20-20, which has been appreciated very well by everyone and the inclusion of youngster like Kedar Jhadav, Manish Pandey and Rishab Pant is an indication that the BCCI is keen on their getting exposure while the seniors are around.
Now India’s one of the most successful captains MS Dhoni deciding to play only as a player the responsibility on Virat Kohli will increase as he is going to be a full-fledged leader in all formats. But the way he has been leading the side, all expect him do better. He has learnt a lot from MS Dhoni and he can still sharpen his captaincy skills as the latter will be around to guide him on and off the field.
But now the main concern is what combinations he would like work on in 50-50 and 20-20. When you have lot of options it wont be easy to stick to some. Of the three Rahul, Dhawan and Rahane, he might prefer Rahul and Rahane to open as he loves to bat at No 3 position. And he has already mentioned in an interview that MS Dhoni will be batting top of the order as he used to do in his initial stages. With Yuvi’s coming in, the middle order looks solid now. Jadhav, Ashwin and Jadeja are in terrific form with both bat and ball and that provides lot of relief to the captain. In pace bowling the selectors have chosen different bowlers for both the formats. While Bhuvi and Bumrah will be playing in both, Umesh Yadav will leave and Hardik Pandey will join for T-20. And last year’s IPL successful spinner Yajuvendra Chaha will come in for Amit Mishra. Rishab Pant will be keeping wickets in t-20 and that is going to be interesting.
On the other hand, England are a good one-day side. They may have been outplayed in Tests, but they are a hard nut to crack in shorter versions. Well there are so many new faces in England team comparing to their Test team, but most of them are capable of winning matches. Alex Hales in form can pose problems to any bowler, while Roy, Root, Billings and captain Morgan are dangerous propositions. They have decent all-rounders in Dawson, Moen Ali And Stokes.
So exciting series in on cards and the cricket lovers are just waiting eagerly for the first match to begin on January 15 in Pune.
By Sudheer Mahavadi – DD Commentator
