Indian team is all set to play England for the next 2 months. India’s tour to England is going to be long with 3 T20s, 3 ODIs & 5 Test Matches.
The longer it goes, the deeper its impacts will be.
The Indian Cricket Board has done its homework this time after India’s lack of settling time when they travelled to South Africa last year.
This time, Indian team is already there in Europe, almost 10 days prior to the tournament starter.
Also, they will play Ireland first for 2 T20s. It will help the Indian Players to take their time to settle and start playing their natural game as early as possible.
When asked about the England vs India Schedule to the Indian Coach, Ravi Shastri, he explained,
“I think in terms of preparation, the schedule is ideal. We start with T20s, then play ODIs. By the time the Test series begin, we would have spent more than one month in England. This gives us enough time to acclimatize,”
On the other side, it is also going to be an important 2 matches for Ireland. It might even land their players one or two IPL contracts, when the IPL auctions take place next year. The IPL teams’ scouts are always watching, remember.
However, this European tour is important for many more reasons. Let’s get into them right away.
The Battle between the Bests
England is the current No.1 team in ODIs. India stands at No.2.
India is No.1 in Tests and No.3 in T20.
If India managed to win the ODI Series 3-0, they can replace England as the No.1 ODI team.
And if England loses against Australia in the 5th match of the ongoing ODI Series, it will take just 2-1 win for India to get into the numero uno position.
Also with South Africa(No.2 in Tests) playing Sri Lanka currently in a Test Series, it is a must for team India to deliver strong results in the Test Series to stay at the top rank.
In one of my blog, You can find How the ICC Rankings are calculated?
The Big Scores are waiting
If you have closely followed the scorecards of 5-Matches ODI Series between England & Australia, you would have witnessed the absolute dominance of Batsmen over the Bowlers.
Especially, the English batsmen literally toyed up with the Australian bowlers in the 3rd ODI to set a world record score of 481 in 50 Overs.
It is evident, the England pitches are going to stay the same for the Indian matches too.
With the calibre of batsmen in both the teams, it is definitely going to be a series filled with run feasts.
Still, the Indian bowlers who were instrumental over the recent times are not going to let things go easily for sure.
It will be an interesting battle between the English Batsmen and the Indian bowlers.
The World Cup is Coming
This time next year, we will be witnessing the 2019’s edition of the biggest tournament in the game of Cricket – The ICC World Cup.
The 10 Qualified Teams will be battling against each other (Round Robin Format) and England has chosen as the battleground as well.
I have also shared the details of the new format, venues and analysis on the complete Schedule of World Cup 2019 in my blog.
You can read it here… ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CRICKET WORLD CUP 2019.
Now with World Cup coming in less than 365 days, the Indian team will be having the best time to get customer to the conditions of few Venues in this part of the year.
This series could also give us the glimpse on how Indians will fair in the World Cup next year.
Virat Kohli vs James Anderson
This is one of the crucial mini-battle I am looking forward to.
Virat Kohli’s edges will be tested once again.
The last time when Virat was in England playing test matches, he was averaging just 13.4 in the 5 test matches he played.
It was not the number Virat would have enjoyed next to his name.
And when England travelled India last year, this controversial statement of James Anderson on Indian captain’s technique adds more fuel to this battle,
“I am not sure if he (Kohli) has changed. I just think any technical deficiencies he has got are not in play out here. The wickets just take that out of the equation. There is not that pace in the wicket to get the nicks, like we did against him in England – with a bit more movement.”
Obviously Virat has improved very much now. His Batting Average, which keeps growing year by year is not just the stats of an ordinary player.
And the way he was charged up against South Africa in the last test series shows how much he wanted to score in the away test series.
Here’s an excellently written article on what is expected from Virat Kohli against England –> “An Open letter to Virat Kohli for his England Tour.”
The Mystery of the Leg Spinners
It is always going to be a challenging task for any Indian spinners outside the sub-continent.
Especially in England, things are not going to be in their favour for sure.
But still, Kuldeep Yadav-Yuzvendra Chahal duo’s 20 Overs are going to be very crucial in India’s point of view.
The Indian Spin twins have come a long way ahead picking 100 wickets together in a very short time in the limited overs.
Check what Virat Kohli says before starting to England on the part of Spin duos in the teams’ win,
“Because of them (Chahal and Yadav), we have actually managed to turn flat tracks into exciting wicket-taking opportunities. I’m really excited to see them bowl in England, because the conditions will not be overtly in their favour, but they have the skill in the wrists. I’m sure other teams are thinking about it. Out of the 50 overs, when you have 20 overs from those two, you know that the opposition team cannot go that far, more so because they know that these two bowlers can get you out in any over. That’s how the mindset changes.”
Again, this is going to be a battle worth waiting for, when the Indian spinners take on the in-form English batsmen.
To Close things,
The Itenary of playing T20s first might work on the visitors favor. But still, the Tests in England are always a tough nut to crack.
The last time Indian team travelled England, they lose the test series 3-1 under the captainship of Mahindra Singh Dhoni.
Now with a new captain and and an improved side, this is definitely India’s best chance to taste the victory in the land, where the Cricket is born.
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