ENG In IND 2025: After the five-match series of the shortest form of the game is done and dusted, India and England will face off in a three-match series of the fifty overs format starting on Thursday, 6th February 2025 at Vidharbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur.
India will be keen to continue their winning momentum from the T20I format into the One Day Internationals before they head to Dubai for their rounds of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. India will play their matches in CT 2025 against Bangladesh, Pakistan and New Zealand.
India has some questions to answer in this three-match series of the fifty overs format against England –
Table of Contents
1. ENG In IND 2025: Who will open the innings with Rohit Sharma In The 1st One Day International?
India has picked Shubman Gill and Yashaswi Jaiswal in their squad for the first 2 fifty overs matches. Shubman Gill is a designated opener in all three forms of the game and still bats at the number three position for India in the red ball format. Gill has been a successful opening batter in the ODIs.
But when we look at the last ODI series, which was against Sri Lanka in 2024, Gill gave a flop show with the bat. Looking at that performance, will India go with the young sensation, Yashaswi Jaiswal, who has been good in the red ball format matches?
Jaiswal was the top run-getter in the Test matches in 2024 and he has played a few T20Is as well for India. The management might consider Yashaswi as HITMAN’s opening partner for this series and if Jaiswal continues his success, then Yashaswi might also open in Dubai during CT 2025.
2. ENG In India 2025: Will India Experiment With Gill At Number Three And Kohli At Number 4 In ODIs?
Kohli has been India’s highest run-getter at the number three position in the fifty-overs format and number four in the red ball format while Gill’s majority of the success has come as an opener and he hasn’t been that successful as the number three batter in Tests.
If the team management is thinking of including both Gill and Jaiswal in the same playing eleven and they are thinking beyond Kohli then Gill might be the option as the number three batter in the ODIs as well as Test matches. However, Gill hasn’t been that consistent at the number three position and he is suited more as an opener.
So the team management should allow Virat Kohli to bat at number three because number three is a perfect place for the King to show his class in the fifty-overs matches. India should choose one player between Gill and Jaiswal for now. Jaiswal has been selected as a backup opener for this series versus England and the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
3. ENG In IND 2025: Who Will Be India’s First Choice Wicketkeeper In The 1st ODI?
Kannur Lokesh Rahul and Rishabh Pant have been selected as the wicketkeeper batters for the ODI series against England and they are also part of the Champions Trophy squad. Pant didn’t play the ODI series in Sri Lanka last year in 2024 when India toured that island nation.
But KL Rahul was part of that fifty overs series in 2024 which India lost by a margin of 2-0. Rahul didn’t perform that well in that series. However, his performances were good in the Asia Cup 2023 and the ODI World Cup played in that same year. Looking at the stats, Rahul has done a more commendable job as a keeper batter in the fifty overs format than Pant.
4. ENG In IND 2025: Will Kuldeep Yadav Get A Chance In The 1st ODI Against England?
The batters from England haven’t been successful in picking the Indian spin bowlers and that was clearly seen in the five match T20I series, which India won by a margin of 4-1. Thats why Varun Chakrabarthy was a highly successful spinner in that series of the shortest format.
India has picked up three spin bowling options for the three match series. Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and the vice captain of the T20I series, Axar Patel. Now the question is that will India pick all the three spinners for the first ODI or will they go with two spin bowling all rounders, Axar and Jaddu, who are also capable batters?
But if India picks Kuldeep instead of Axar, who didn’t had a good series of the shortest format, then that makes more sense because the England batters will not pick the chinaman bowler while Jaddu and Axar are same set of bowlers and they can be put away easily.
The way which England batters struggled to pick Varun in the five match T20 International series, their struggle will continue if Kuldeep play all these three matches before the start of ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and if the chinaman bowler gets that success than it would be a big boost for India ahead of that big ICC event in Dubai.
Also Read – IND Vs ENG ODIs: 3 Match One Day International Series – Squads, Timings, Day, Dates And Venues
