England vs India 2014: 1st ODI - Preview and Predicted XI
Battered and bruised in the recently concluded Test series by a scoreline of 3-1, the Men in Blue would be looking to salvage some pride in the ODI series due to start on the 25th of August. The Indians would be hoping that the change to coloured jerseys brings a change in their fortunes as well.
Developments preceding the series
The follow up to the series saw a lot of administrative and strategic developments in the Indian camp. The BCCI, apparently in damage control mode, appointed former Indian captain Ravi Shastri as the Director of the Indian cricket team for the upcoming ODI series.
Shastri, who has been one of the most prominent and frequent names in the commentary box would now have to juggle between his media commitments and his new responsibility.
BCCI's decision has garnered mixed reactions. On the one hand, former cricketers have been unanimous in supporting this decision while on the other, fans on the social media have dubbed it to be another one of N Srinivasan's antics to gain more control of the operations within the Indian team.
Apart from Ravi Shastri, two more members were added to the Indian think-tank while giving a break to Trevor Penney, the fielding coach, and Joe Dawes, the bowling coach.
Former Indian cricketers Sanjay Bangar and Bharat Arun have been appointed as the assistant coaches. R Sridhar, the Andhra Pradesh Ranji fielding coach as well as the fielding coach for the IPL team King's XI Punjab takes over Trevor Penney's role as the fielding coach of the national team.
An Eye On the World Cup 2015
The core squads have already been announced by both the teams. The choice of players reflects the futuristic thinking of both the camps.
India, while retaining many of the successful ODI regulars like Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Virat Kohli and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, have also made sure that they reward consistent performances from youngsters like Sanju Samson, Karn Sharma and Mohit Sharma by including them in the team.
Dhoni has also placed his faith in Ajinkya Rahane and Stuart Binny owing to their relatively decent performances in the just concluded Test series. The inconsistent Rohit Sharma whose last few outings in the ODI format haven't been pleasant has also been retained who would again probably be used as the opener.
On the English front too, Captain Alastair Cook and the administration have made sure that their team is a mixed bag of experience and youth which is rightly considered to be the ideal recipe for a big tournament like the World Cup.
Therefore, their team boasts of both the experienced lot which includes the likes of Cook, Ian Bell, and James Anderson as well as in form youngsters like Gary Ballance, Joe Root and India's main tormenter in the last Test match Moeen Ali.
Other changes include the dropping of Michael Carberry in whose place T20 Specialist Alex Hales has been drafted in. Stuart Broad will miss the series owing to his pending knee surgery.
Crucial series
This ODI series is important for both India and England, as both teams have a lot at stake.
While India would be looking to continue their reputed domination over other teams in this format while trying to rescue and salvage their pride and avenge the dismal Test series as well as the bashing that they got in this format in England 2011.
At the same time, England would be trying to fathom the best team combination and try and nurture the youngsters that fit the bill the best.
Therefore, the first match at the County Cricket ground at Bristol holds great importance as both the teams have a lot at stake as the preparations for the World Cup 2015 begin.
Expected XI
India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni (captain/WK), Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav.
England: Alex Hales, Alastair Cook (captain), Gary Ballance, Ian Bell, Joe Root, Jos Buttler (WK), Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Chris Woakes, James Tredwell, James Anderson.