England Vs India, 2018: Five Players For Whom the ODI Series is Very Crucial

After announcing a full-time squad for the first time in the past two years, high-flying England didn’t get the desired results what they would have dreamt before kicking off the much-awaited home schedule. Moreover, India began its tour by winning convincingly against hurtless Ireland in a two-match Twenty20 international series.

Ergo, Team India maintained the same momentum against the Three Lions. The hosts were knocked down by 2-1 in an exciting three-match T20 series.

Kuldeep Yadav’s five-for and the brilliance from Lokesh Rahul starred in the first match to make it 1-0 for India. Well, the calm and composed nature of Alex Hales in the second match equalled the series in some style.

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In the series decider, Rohit Sharma factor came into play as he India sealed the series with 2-1.

After the T20 series win, India will be hoping to continue with the same spirit in the remainder of the series. The in-form KL Rahul, Rohit and skipper Virat Kohli himself have been delivering in the batting department. On the other side, the spin duo in the form of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, India will be looking to carry its momentum.

On a personal note, the upcoming ODI series will be very crucial for few of the players from both the teams.

So, Let us look at five such players for whom the upcoming series will be crucial for their future role:

1. Joe Root:

Despite being a part of an elite group of modern-day cricketers named as ‘fab 4’, Joe Root will be knowing that he is on the brink to be axed from the T20 series squad.

Quality batsman Root is not having a merry form as England fans would have been expecting from a leading batsman from him.

When it comes to ‘fab 4’, Root will be loving to take the ODI series as a challenging one. His other world partners; Kohli is continuing his purple patch across formats whereas, Kane Williamson is having moderate success in a limited-overs format.

Apart from that, Steven Smith is facing a one-year ban after the sandpaper controversy so he is out for a time being.

The limited-overs career of Root seems to be uncertain while facing the poor patch of runs in the shortest version of the game. Not yet, the prime form of Alex Hales and the return of Stokes after the injury may add to his woes.

Averaging 49.82, Root and Smith are only two solid middle-order batsmen while the rest slots are filled with aggressive batsmen and all-rounders.

With regards to the experience of maintaining the ship in view of any kind of collapse, England may stick with Root. However, his last Australian series is also supporting his cause.

2. Ben Stokes:

After having a rough time in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018, Ben Stokes turned one of the biggest disappointment after being the “Most Valuable Player” in 2017.

Stokes has seen everything since past one year. This disappointment was followed by an injury which added miseries further during his career.

In the present ODI squad of England, Root is the only player whom Stokes could replace owing to his ability to turn things in favour of hosting team.

The brilliance of Adil Rashid and all-round development of Moeen Ali adds further miseries to Stokes’ inclusion.

3. Umesh Yadav:

Speedster Umesh Yadav lastly appeared in limited-overs format of the game against Australia on 28th September 2017.

Since his debut, Yadav only featured in 71 ODIs which statically makes 10 ODI’s matches per annum.

The sublime form of Umesh Yadav and inopportune injury of Jasprit Bumrah may turn former’s fortunes in ODI format as well as India will likely to go with him.

Umesh seems to be a desiring candidate alongside Shardul Thakur and Siddarth Koul.

4. Kuldeep Yadav:

This Chinaman spinner saw many ups and downs minutely in the T20 series. From being a hero of the starting T20 to a complete distress in the second one, Kuldeep Yadav was dropped for the decider of the recently-held T20 series against England.

Team management may not opt for Yadav. However, they will be hoping to use this ‘mystery’ spinner in the longest format. The left-arm spinner will be eagerly waiting to payback after being sidelined for a game.

5. Lokesh Rahul:

Without an iota of the doubt, it will be a golden chance for KL Rahul. He has a grand opportunity to seal his spot for the 2019 World Cup.

After a dream IPL, Rahul continued his form in the international arena as well. The Bangalore-based cricketer seems to be the only player apart from Kohli.

Aggressive batter Rahul has been an ideal choice for the national selectors of Team India.

In the T20 series, Virat Kohli sacrificed his number three spot for him. Kohli may continue with the same template in the ODI series as well.