India England ODI 1 Series Preview: Can India Deliver on Home Soil?

This time round the return clash of India and England in the forthcoming ODI series is expected to be less of a hype and more of quiet expectations as the Indian cricket team will aim to restore some pride and glory about them after that unmentionable tour of England.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni

For Mahendra Singh Dhoni, as the Indian captains, fewer tests come sterner than this. That is because given India’s recent performances, the ODI series against England represents not merely the return of international cricket to India since the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 but also, the opportunity to remedy some of the wounds laid bare since the dreadful tour of England where India failed to win even a single match, managing one tie during the ODI series that did not really dent England’s reputation.

However, the problems on that tour are set to haunt in part once more because Dhoni will once again have few of the established Indian cricketers at his disposal which means he is going to work around a few inexperienced faces. But the good news is that since India will be playing on home turf and not tough English conditions, one can expect at the very least minimal improvements in the performances although the lack of big names is also going to stimulate the England team to continue on an optimistic note which the England ODI captain, Alastair Cook, will certainly be hoping from his team that will only see the two fast bowlers, Stuart Broad and James Anderson, missing in action.

For several of the young Indian faces, it will be an interesting test since the Indian selectors have only named the team for the first two ODI matches which means a few changes will be on the cards if they fail to grab this short stint of an opportunity. Interestingly, not only will be the fast bowling under the scanner in the absence of Zaheer Khan, but also, with Harbhajan Singh being held back once more by the selectors, it is interesting which of the spinners besides Ravichandran Ashwin manages to pose a tough competition for the slot, as India could well opt for two spinners in the team for the first ODI that gets underway on Friday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal, Hyderabad.