New Delhi: Team India will take on England in the three-match ODI series, starting Thursday, February 6. The Men in Blue will aim to prepare for the Champions Trophy 2025 and narrow down on their final combination for the ICC tournament. Rohit and Co. are placed in Group A of the Champions Trophy along with Pakistan, Bangladesh and New Zealand. They will open their campaign against Bangladesh on February 20 at Dubai International Stadium.
The focus will be on India’s senior-most batters, captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who have struggled to score runs in red-ball cricket and faced a lot of criticism. Their inability to score runs against both spin and fast bowling in the recent Test series against New Zealand and Australia led to the team’s failure to secure a spot in the final of the World Test Championship.
But things are different in the 50-over format as the two veterans have enjoyed a lot of success in recent years. Rohit and Virat reached at the peak of their ODI careers under the leadership of Rahul Dravid. They redefined India’s approach in the 50-over format by playing attacking cricket. Both were the highest run-scorers of the 2023 ODI World Cup with Kohli smashing 765 and Rohit scoring 597.
The Men in Blue have played only six ODI matches after the 2023 World Cup, three each against South Africa and Sri Lanka. A second-string team toured the Proteas nation while Rohit and Co. lost the series against Sri Lanka by 2-0. The three ODI games against England will be crucial for their confidence as they will look to put past performances behind them and win another ICC trophy for the team by scoring plenty of runs.
Virat, Rohit on cusp of major ODI milestones
Virat Kohli is on the verge of breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s phenomenal ODI record. He is just 94 runs away from completing 14,000 runs in the 50-over format. He will become the fastest batter to achieve the milestone in ODI cricket. Kohli has played 295 ODI matches while Sachin completed 14,000 runs in 350 ODI innings and Sangakkara achieved the milestone in 378 innings.
Rohit Sharma is only 134 runs away from completing 11,000 runs in ODI cricket. If he achieves the milestone in his next 19 innings, the Indian captain will become the second-fastest to do so after Virat Kohli (222 innings). He will also surpass Tendulkar on the list of fastest batters to achieve the milestone in the 50-over format. The Master Blaster completed this milestone in 276 innings. He also needs two centuries to complete 50 hundreds in international cricket.
All eyes will be on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as the Men in Blue look to prepare for the Champions Trophy with the three-match ODI series against England. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
