With the three-match T20I series ahead and also the World Cup round the corner, India will have to address this weakness to ensure that their much-vaunted batting doesn't crumble on an odd day when the condition aids swing bowling in England.
'He is a really exciting talent and probably the guy I am looking forward to seeing the most this summer. I have seen the Aussies a lot and I have seen a lot of the Kiwis, but I am really excited to see him'
Andre Russell and Eoin Morgan's power-hitting will be the focus of all eyes when the in-form Kolkata Knight Riders taken on Delhi Capitals with an aim to light up the Sharjah skyline in what promises to be another six-hitting IPL contest in Sharjah on Saturday.
A ruthless India, sporting its new flaming orange and blue colours, will be eyeing pole position with a solid knock-out punch on an already disintegrated England in Sunday's high-profile World Cup encounter. With an unbeaten record in six encounters so far, Virat Kohli's men are all but through to the semi-finals with 11 points, but victory over England will tighten their grip at the top and, in the process, oust the world's No 1 ODI team from the global event.
Team India, on Wednesday, arrived in London to participate in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men's Cricket World Cup, beginning May 30.
Mumbai Indians retains 18 players; releases Duminy, Cummins, Rahman
England have named an unchanged squad for their tour of India with their all-time leading wicket-taker James Anderson not included in the initial 16-man list for the five-Test series, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Tuesday.
Rohit Sharma will certainly leave a gaping hole at the top of the order, something that skipper Virat Kohli wouldn't have fancied at the onset of a gruelling two-month tour.
In the lead-up to the World T20, India have hit good form, beating hosts Sri Lanka before blanking Australia A at home. What should give them additional confidence going into the opener is the wins against reigning champions West Indies and England in the warm-up matches.
England's sporting global ambitions have never been fully realised since Sir Alf Ramsey's team won the 1966 FIFA World Cup. Whether it is Gary Linekar or Hary Kane, the 'Cup' that they desperately want never came home during the last five and half decades.
To India's comfort, New Zealand's tournament has gone on a downward spiral during their last three games but their initial good work helped them beat Pakistan to a last four spot.
'They have got so much talent. And in the last 10 years when they have not been playing home Test matches (for security reasons), they have done a remarkable job to be as competitive as they have and continue to bring on the level of talented players they have.'
a red-ball warm-up game will be the most welcome distraction for Virat Kohli and his men as a precursor to the two-match Test series starting next week.
New Zealand picked two uncapped players in all-rounder Daryl Mitchell and pacer Blair Tickner for the three-match T20 International series against India.
While Sri Lanka will be fancying their chances against a lowly South African side, the Proteas would be more than keen to make a statement against the 1996 winners.
A depleted Rajasthan Royals will have an onerous task of stopping the mighty CSK
India have a chance to hold the Proteas by the scruff of their neck with the latter seemingly at their weakest following back-to-back defeats,
3 Indians included in the squad
Laxmi Negi picks her All Stars XI after the IPL 2020 league games.
Veteran Yuvraj Singh made a comeback to the Indian team, while Virat Kohli took over the captaincy from Mahendra Singh Dhoni, for the forthcoming three-match ODI and T20I series against England, starting in Pune, on January 15.
Sunrisers Hyderabad stand in the way of two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders, who would be looking to bring their campaign back on track at home during an Indian Premier League T20 cricket clash, in Kolkata, on Saturday.
Australia coach Justin Langer said that England are obviously the red-hot favourites going into the World Cup and said the team deserves to be the number one team in the world.
India now are the only team to have chased 350-plus thrice and in each of them Kohli has been the backbone with centuries in each.
The series is even more important for Kohli as it would also define his legacy as a leader having already established himself as world's premier batsman.
Ajinkya Rahane will be aiming to get his mojo back as India, formidable even without regular skipper Virat Kohli, eye another 'Whitewash' against Sri Lanka in the three-match ODI series, starting on Sunday.
How do the Aussie and Indian cricketers compare? Rajneesh Gupta presents all the career numbers.
A series win in Australia will certainly put Kohli on a higher pedestal even though the quality of the home team's batting line-up suffered adversely due to the bans of former skipper Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner.
India will eye another dominant performance against hosts England in a three- match ODI series
Since Dhawan is not part of the Test squad, the Delhi left-hander would like to finish the Caribbean assignment on a high.
The flamboyant Chris Gayle is unlikely to get a farewell Test match against India after being overlooked in the 13-strong West Indies squad for the two-Test series, starting August 22 at North Sound, in Antigua.
The big question is of bench strength and chances for the likes of KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik and Umesh Yadav.
Retired batsman VVS Laxman will lead Hyderabad in the Ranji Trophy Group 'A' league match against a Punjab Cricket Association team in Mohali from November 2.
Skipper Rohit Sharma will be desperate to get back to form as a resurgent India look to set their record straight against hosts Sri Lanka in the third match of the Nidahas Tri-Series, in Colombo, on Monday.
Will India go into the 3rd T20I vs Sri Lanka with the same squad or will Sanju Samson and Manish Pandey get a look in?
Premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will be in focus alongside speedster Mohammed Shami when defending champions India take on New Zealand on Sunday in their opening warm-up game ahead of the Champions Trophy in London.
Kings XI Punjab will be aiming to continue their late surge against Rising Pune Supergiant in a 'winner takes it all' Indian Premier League encounter, in Pune on Sunday.
India's bench strength will be tested when a second string team takes on Zimbabwe.
Royal Challengers BangalorStruggling RCB face inconsistent Supergiant in must-win game will be striving to keep their IPL hopes alive when they meet an equally inconsistent Rising Pune Supergiant in an Indian Premier League encounter, in Pune on Saturday.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will be aiming for revival when they clash against out-of-sorts Gujarat Lions in an Indian Premier League match.
Windies name unchanged squad for first two ODIs vs India. The Caribbs, who are standing at the ninth spot in the ODI rankings, failed to gain any point from the drawn series against Afghanistan.
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