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After the debacle in Test matches in the last two series – losing to New Zealand and Australia – India shift their attention to limited overs cricket. India play five T20Is and three ODIs against England starting 22 January until 12 February. The series marks as India’s preparations for the ICC Champions Trophy that gets underway on 19 February with India playing a day later in Dubai, UAE.
India have not played the 50-over format since August last year when they finished second best to Sri Lanka. The three-match series finished 2-0 for the hosts. That series featured all seniors, including Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
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Rohit is certain to captain the side in the UAE and will have Jasprit Bumrah as his vice-captain, barring any major fitness concerns. White-ball specialists like Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh will also be in the mix.
India, two-time champions of the Champions Trophy, have been placed alongside Bangladesh, New Zealand and Pakistan in Group A in the Champions Trophy.
Much of the discussion in the lead-up to the Champions Trophy has been on India’s travel plans for hosts Pakistan. After India stated they will not be willing to travel to the neighbours for security reasons, a lengthy dialogue ensued between the two boards and the International Cricket Council (ICC).
In the end, it was declared that the tournament will be played in a hybrid-model with India’s matches, including the first semi-final and a potential final, to be played in Dubai. Rest of the matches will take place in Pakistan.
Additionally, neither sides will travel to their neighbours for an ICC event until 2027.
When will the squad be announced?
As TimesofIndia.com had reported, India men’s cricket team’s chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar is due to begin discussions with head coach Gautam Gambhir in order to pick the squad.
With the tournament starting on 19 February, team’s need to pick their provisional 15-member squad by 12 January. However, they can make changes until 13 February.
“All teams need to submit their provisional squads by January 12 but (are) allowed to make changes till February 13. It is up to the teams whether they want to announce the squad or not as the International Cricket Council (ICC) will release the submitted squads only on February 13,” said an ICC official.
Will Jasprit Bumrah feature?
To solidify plans and get some warm-up, all Champions Trophy-bound players are expected to play against England in the three ODIs on 6, 9, 12 February in Nagpur, Cuttack and Ahmedabad.
The only exception to those plans could be Jasprit Bumrah. The seamer, who bowled 151.2 overs in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, picked up a back spasm in Sydney and was unable to bowl in the final innings of the series.
As per medical officials, if it is indeed just back spasm, Bumrah should be fit in six weeks for the start of the Champions Trophy. If it is worse, like a Grade 1 stress fracture, the seamer would be out for some time.
“It does depend on the final diagnosis of the injury. Back spasm is normally an orange light, it tells you that something worse could be in store and you need to stop at that point… Having suffered a lower back stress fracture earlier, Bumrah must have read the signs at the right time and decided to stop in Sydney,” a former India Test bowler had told TOI.
India seamer Jasprit Bumrah sat out the final session in Sydney with back spasm.
“Most likely, this time he felt a tightness in the upper back. The reports have gone to his surgeon, we should have the final results very soon. My hunch is he will be part of the first squad that will be announced for CT. After all, you can have an injury replacement later,” the pacer added.
Former India trainer Ramji Srinivasan said it can take up to one to six months of recovery if it is a Grade 1 to 3 injury.
Ramji, though, was wary of putting Bumrah back into the bowling lineup with IPL to follow. Bumrah is a treasure and he should be handled with care. A CT is not the end of the world. If there is the slightest doubt, he shouldn’t be in the squad. Five back-to-back Test matches isn’t something he has ever played in his cricketing career,” the trainer said.
Does Mohammed Shami have a shot?
Mohammed Shami (Photo Source: X)
As per a Cricbuzz report, Mohammed Shami is in contention for a spot in the England series and the Champions Trophy. The seamer was floated as a potential inclusion throughout the series in Australia but wasn’t called up in the end.
The report said NCA medical team has been keeping checks on Shami, who underwent surgery on his right heel last year. While it has healed, he experienced minor knee swelling.
Recently, Shami has played a couple of Vijay Hazare Trophy matches for Bengal and played again in the pre-quarterfinal against Haryana on Thursday.
In the match played in Baroda, Shami opened the bowling and took three wickets from his quota of 10 overs. The seamer accounted for the wickets of Himanshu Rana, Dinesh Bana and Anshul Kamboj to finish with figures of 3/61.
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