With T20 World Cups happening in 2021 and 2022, there was very little focus on ODI cricket. But now with the 2023 ODI World Cup less than 12 months, suddenly the format seems to have gained high importance in the eyes of teams and fans.
After a young side went to New Zealand and lost the only ODI of the series with the next two matches being rain-affected, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul are back as India brace themselves for the challenge from Bangladesh in the series opener on Sunday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS) in Mirpur, Dhaka.
The ODIs against Bangladesh will also mark the re-uniting of Rohit, Shikhar Dhawan, and Kohli as the top three. Since the 2019 World Cup, the trio have featured in just 12 ODIs together. It remains to be seen if the opening pair of Rohit and Dhawan will be able to give India an aggressive start in the first ten overs and whether Kohli can carry his sizzling T20I form into a format where he has been a master of acing chases.
Also Read:Surya kumar is new ABD : Ravi Shastri
The focus will also be on India’s middle order, especially on who will bat at four, five, and six. Rahul had established himself in the middle-order through stellar performances, and Shreyas Iyer has been consistently impressive in whatever opportunities he has got in absence of star-studded players in the format.
Rishabh Pant offers a left-handed option in the middle order, but even his ardent fans will agree that he has to get the big runs against Bangladesh to keep himself in the reckoning, especially with contenders like Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson (who is not a part of this series).
Bangladesh, on the other hand, will be without regular ODI skipper Tamim Iqbal due to a groin injury, and Taskin Ahmed, due to a reoccurrence of a back injury. With an experienced opener and pacer went, stand-in captain, Litton Das will have to get the best out of the resources he has.
Litton, who sparkled with 63 against India in T20 World Cup in Adelaide, will need senior players like Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, and Mahmudullah to step up in their roles. Others like Afif Hossain, Yasir Ali, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, and Anamul Haque will be expected to come in and rescue Bangladesh from tough situations.
Teams
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Shreyas Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Shahbaz Ahmed, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Sen, and Umran Malik.
Bangladesh: Litton Kumar Das (captain), Anamul Haque Bijoy, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain, Yasir Ali Chowdhury, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Ebadot Hossain Chowdhury, Nasum Ahmed, Mahmud Ullah, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Qazi Nurul Hasan Sohan, and Shoriful Islam.
(This story has been sourced from a third-party syndicated feed, agencies. Raavi Media accepts no responsibility or liability for the dependability, trustworthiness, reliability, and data of the text. Raavi Media managementythisnews.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content at its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.)
