England vs India 2018: 3 problems India might face in the ODI series
India started their England tour perfectly as they won the 3-match T20I series 2-1. The team with the better bowling attack won the series. Now, India will be looking forward to the ODI series and will be positive considering that they have won the T20I series.
England are currently the No.1 ODI side and whitewashed Australia 5-0 in their last one-day series. This England team are good at making comebacks and will be determined to do well in the ODIs after a disappointing T20I series.
Both the teams have a similar looking squad for the ODIs. For India, youngsters Chahar and Krunal make way for Shardul and Axar whereas Shreyas Iyer replaces Manish Pandey from the T20I squad. For England, Chris Jordan will make way for Mark Wood. Even though India will be confident, there are a few problems which might trouble them during the ODI series. Let’s have a look at 3 of them:
#3 No extra bowling option
When Ambati Rayudu was in the squad there were no batsmen who could bowl some part-time overs. Now with the inclusion of Suresh Raina India do have the option of a part-time bowler, but will he make the playing XI?
Other than Raina, nobody in the squad can bowl the extra overs. India currently play with only 5 bowlers as we saw in the T20I series. But it is a different ball game in ODIs as each bowler has to bowl 10 overs and not only 4! What if a bowler has a bad day? India have no other option to go to.
They are forced to play Raina due to this issue and that’s why a player like Dinesh Karthik who is in great form has to sit out. If India drop Raina and play Karthik then they are left with only 5 bowlers which will be a big risk considering their fifth bowler is an all-rounder. India will have to get their team balance right if they want to defeat the No.1 ODI side and that’s why this problem is slotted in at No.3 in this list.