After defeating England 4-1 in the T20I series, Team India will play a 3-match ODI series. This would be India's last chance to prepare for the ICC Champions Trophy. The Men in Blue need to find answers to several questions before the tournament. Will captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli return to form? The fitness of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami is also a concern. If both cannot bowl in complete rhythm, who will make up for their absence? 1) Can Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli rediscover their mojo? Team India legends Virat Kohli and captain Rohit Sharma are struggling with poor form. Since winning the T20 World Cup 2024, Kohli has managed only one century, while Rohit hasn't scored any hundreds. Though Rohit did score fifties in 3 ODIs against Sri Lanka, both players flopped in the Test format. In this situation, the ODI series against England is the last chance for both senior batters to find their form before the big tournament. 2) Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami's fitness woes Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah, who led India's bowling attack in the ODI World Cup 2023, are recovering from injuries. Shami made a comeback after 14 months and played 2 T20Is against England. Though he took 3 wickets, English batters had no trouble playing against him. Bumrah was injured while playing Tests on the Australia tour. It will take him time to recover. If both Bumrah and Shami are not able to bowl in rhythm, there could be pressure on Hardik Pandya and the spinners to handle the bowling. The BCCI will have to make the call whether to include Mohammed Siraj in the Indian squad, before the 12 February deadline. 3) KL Rahul or Rishabh Pant – Who will keep the wickets? KL Rahul was the team's best wicketkeeper batter in the last ODI World Cup, however, he was replaced by Rishabh Pant in the third ODI during last year's Sri Lanka tour. Both players are now part of the squad. In terms of experience and performance, Rahul's record is stronger, having scored 2851 runs in 77 ODIs at an average of nearly 50, including 7 centuries and 18 fifties. On the other hand, Rishabh Pant has only managed 871 runs in 31 ODIs at an average of 33.50, with 1 century and 5 fifties. The India vs England ODI series will give a clearer picture of India's first-choice wicketkeeper preference. 4) Yashasvi Jaiswal's debut in ODIs? Young left-hand opener Yashasvi Jaiswal has been included in the ODI team for the first time. While he has already made his mark in T20 and Test cricket, he hasn't yet made his ODI debut. While the Indian management is likely to go with the tried and tested opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, Jaiswal could give the management a selection headache. Gill is the team's best batter, whose average is even better than Virat Kohli. He has already scored more than 2000 runs with 6 centuries. Gautam Gambhir has a tough choice to make regarding his opening pair. 5) What would be India's ideal playing XI? Looking at the ODI form, Rohit, Shubman, Virat, Shreyas, Rahul, Hardik, Kuldeep and Shami are currently considered confirmed. If Bumrah stays fit, he will also slot straight into the playing 11. After that, 2 spots will remain vacant, for which 1 bowler and 3 all-rounders are contenders. These include Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar. India's probable playing XI for Champions Trophy:
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (Wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh.Original Article