England vs India 2018: 5 players for whom the ODI series is very crucial

The much-awaited India’s long tour of England finally kicked-off last week. India began their tour by thrashing a harmless Ireland side in a two-match T20I series. In the past two years, England had used any T20I series as an opportunity to rest their key players but for a change, they announced a full-strength squad for the T20I series against India.

Kuldeep Yadav and Lokesh Rahul starred in the first match to give India a 1-0 lead. Alex Hales's heroics in the second match helped England to level the series 1-1. However, Rohit Sharma’s brilliance in the final ODI sealed the series for the visitors.

With one-third of the tour completed, the second phase of the tour will start on July 12, 2018. India will be looking to carry on their momentum to the ODI series. On the other hand, England will seem to forget the T20I series and move on to their favourite format of the recent times.

On a personal note, the upcoming ODI series will be very crucial for few of the players in both the teams. Let us look at five such players for whom the forthcoming ODI series will be very crucial.

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#1 Joe Root

Joe Root will look to improve his white ball skills

In the extended format of the game, Joe Root is a part of an elite group named ‘Fab 4’. Steve Smith, Virat Kohli, and Kane Williamson are the other three members. Among them, Kohli has achieved equal success in all the three formats of the game. Smith and Williamson have moderate success in the limited formats of the game. On the other hand while Root is currently standing on the edge of exit from England’s T20 plans.

Despite averaging 49.82 in ODIs, Root’s limited overs career seems to be in trouble all of a sudden. With Hales in prime form and Stokes returning from injury, Root’s place in the ODI side seems uncertain now. With a squad full of explosive openers and all-rounders, Morgan and Root are the only two proper middle-order batsmen.

By keeping their last ODI against Australia in mind, England might stick with Root in the ODI. If there is an ugly collapse in an innings, then Root can provide stability in one end. Besides, the snub from the last T20I will motivate him more to perform better in the ODI series.

#2 Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes will look to return to his best in the ODI series

From being the 'Most Valuable Player' in IPL 2017 to the 'Biggest Disappointment of IPL 2018', Ben Stokes has seen everything in the past one year. He was even dropped from the England squad for his off-field actions. Adding to the poor form, he got injured at the wrong time.

His injury paved the way for Morgan to try Hales in the middle-order who was brilliant in the recently concluded ODI series against Australia. With Moeen Ali spinning an alliance with Adil Rashid, Root is the only player that Stokes can replace.

Stokes had a poor outing against India in the last T20I. However, the all-rounder will look to return to his best in the ODI series. Stokes will be eager to drop the monkey from his shoulders and play his natural game without the fear of failure.

#3 Umesh Yadav

Umesh Yadav will look to make full use of Bumrah's absence

Umesh Yadav made his ODI debut on May 28, 2010, against Zimbabwe. The last time he played an ODI was on September 28, 2017, against Australia. Between the years 2010-2017, Yadav had played only 71 ODIs.

Because of his sublime performances in the recently concluded IPL, he was called back in the limited-over formats and had a decent T20I series against England. Besides, Bumrah’s untimely injury created a vacancy in the playing XI as well.

With experience and form on his side, Umesh Yadav will be the most likely candidate to replace Bumrah whereas Shardul Thakur and Siddarth Kaul will most likely miss out. A decent showing in the upcoming ODI series will increase Umesh’s chances of breaking into India’s ICC World Cup 2019 squad.

#4 Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep will be eager to take some revenge on the Englishmen

Kuldeep Yadav was a revelation in the first T20I against England. However, two days later, he had a disastrous second T20I and as a result, he was dropped for the third T20I. Within a week, Kuldeep’s place in the starting line-up has come under scrutiny. There is a chance that the team management might not want to expose their ‘mystery’ spinner much before the all-important Test series.

Irrespective of the reasons behind his exclusion, Kuldeep will be eager to brush off his second T20I performance. As the chinaman does not mind being thrashed by the batsmen, he will be eagerly waiting for the payback. Besides, a good showing in the ODI series can cement his place in the Test squad.

#5 Lokesh Rahul

Rahul's golden chance to seal a ticket to the 2019 World Cup

If there is any particular player (apart from Virat Kohli) who currently deserves a place in the Indian team starting XI irrespective of the format, then it should be Lokesh Rahul. Rahul had a dream IPL 2018. He scored 659 runs in just 14 innings with the strike rate of 158.41.

Kohli then pulled the rabbit out of his hat by sacrificing his no.3 spot for Rahul in the T20I series. The switch yielded both the batsmen with desired results.

Considering the success of the switch, Kohli might follow the same template in the ODI series to put an end to the never-ending no.4 conundrum. Even Rahul did an audition for the no.4 spot with not much success.

With Rohit and Dhawan fixed as regular openers, no.3 is the only position through which Rahul can earn a ticket to the 2019 ICC World Cup.