England vs India 2018: 7 Indian Players Who Need To Step Up In ODI Series

The upcoming India vs England ODI series is a crucial one as two powerhouse limited-overs sides face off. India have drawn first blood as they took the T20I series against England in but England will be keen on making a comeback in arguably their strongest format.

Who will win this series is anyone’s guess simply due to how evenly balanced the contest between both sides is – England are ranked 1st in ODI cricket and India are ranked 2nd. The series being played in England tilts the scales slightly in their favour but India’s fiery performance in the T20I series has shown that the home advantage may not make that much of a difference at all, especially in limited overs cricket where flatter pitches are the norm. The crowds are seemingly drowned in a sea of blue shirts so it does not feel too far from a home game for the Indians.

England’s trademark aggressive approach proved to be extremely fruitful against the Australians in their recently concluded ODI series, which they swept 5-0. Though they have recently lost the T20I series to India, England will take confidence from their performance against Australia and look to achieve a similar result in the upcoming series:

If India are to snatch the series from England however, these 7 players will be of paramount importance:

Graph of Select Indian Batsmens' performances in and against England — These Indian batsmen have good records playing against England, but when playing against England in England their averages dip, except for MS Dhoni.

#1 Virat Kohli

England v India - 3rd Vitality International T20 — Kohli played a good hand in the 2nd and 3rd T20Is

Arguably one of the greatest ODI batsmen to play the game, Virat Kohli is a modern limited overs cricket legend. With the added captaincy duties, India will be looking for him to show up with sharp leadership decisions both on and off the field as well as amazing batting performances that we have now become accustomed to.

Historically, batting in English conditions has been a weakness for Kohli, however, his stats in England look promising and with the practice he has gotten thus far in the T20I series, he will be high on confidence.