Monday, January 07, 2013

Indian ODI squad for three matches against England


India is going to face England in a 5-match ODI series that will kick off on January 11, 2013. Ahead of the upcoming ODI series, Indian selectors have announced a 15-man squad. In this squad, fans will see some notable changes.
India’s most experienced and hard hitter opening batsman, Virender Sehwag, has been left out of the squad for the first three ODI matches against England. He was dropped due to his poor form in the shorter format of cricket game. In 2012, he averaged 21.70 with the bat in one-day international cricket. It was his lowest ever average for ODIs in a calendar year since 2000.
The 34-year-old Sehwag was dropped from India’s third and final ODI squad against Pakistan and has once again been dropped by the Indian selectors from the matches against England in Rajkot, Kochi and Ranchi.
Cheteshwar Pujara has replaced Sehwag in the squad. Pujara scored unbeaten 206 against England in the Test series. Left-handed opener, Gautam Gambhir, has also been retained in the squad due to his poor form in the ODI series against Pakistan. Mahendra Singh Dhoni will continue as captain despite facing a lot of criticism that he should be replaced.
Ravinchandran Ashwin and Amit Mishra have been included in the squad as the frontline spinners. However, veteran spinner, Harbhajan Singh, once again fails to make his place in the national team. The inclusion of Shami Ahmed who made his debut against Pakistan was the big surprise.
England cricket team is now in buoyant form. They made a record of winning the first Test series in India after 27 years in December 2012. So, fans may expect to see an exciting match between India and England.
Indian cricket team is not in good form. After losing the 3-match ODI series 2-1 against Pakistan, they have come under criticism. No doubt, it will create huge pressure on them when the will take on England in ODI series.
Indian squad for first three ODIs: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Gautam Gambhir, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravinchandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Ashok Dinda, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Shami Ahmed.

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