NEW DELHI:India\u2019s new skipper Virat Kohli has his eyes firmly fixed on the 2019 World Cup as his side begins the year with a limited overs series against a new-look England starting Sunday.
\nKohli, who led India to a 4-0 Test demolition of England last year, is now India\u2019s skipper across all formats after Mahendra Singh Dhoni relinquished his ODI and Twenty20 captaincy early this month.
\nFollowing the Test triumph, the 28-year-old skipper returns to the helm against the Eoin Morgan-led side in three one-day internationals before the sides play three Twenty20 matches.
\nThe swashbuckling batsman, who has been dubbed “King Kohli” by the Indian media, now has the task of preparing the third-ranked ODI side for its title defence in the Champions Trophy in June and eventually the World Cup in 2019.
\n“Just hearing about the World Cup gives me goosebumps,” Kohli was quoted as saying by the Indian board\u2019s official website.
\nKohli said he had played in two 50-over World Cups and a “couple of World T20s. But to captain India in the World Cup would be the biggest achievement of my life”.
\nWhile Kohli admitted that “these (Dhoni\u2019s) are massive shoes to fill”, India coach Anil Kumble believes the bond between the two players will help the current captain find his footing.
\n“It\u2019s great for the team have MS (Mahendra Singh) on the field with Virat leading the side… the bonhomie that they have will only help Virat grow as a leader,” Kumble told reporters.
\nIndia will also have the services of veteran batsman Yuvraj Singh, who is expected to make the XI after his half-century in the first warm-up in Mumbai.
\nReturning to the fold, batsman Shikhar Dhawan and fit-again Ajinkya Rahane, who cracked 91 to lead India A to victory in the second warm-up, are also expected to strengthen India\u2019s batting line-up in the first ODI in Pune.
\nMeanwhile England will be no pushover in the limited overs segment as ODI and T20 skipper Morgan insisted that the team did not carry the baggage of their pre-Christmas loss to India.
\n“Since the squad got together there\u2019s been no backlash or repercussion from any performance earlier in the tour and I don\u2019t expect it to have any effect,” Morgan told reporters.
\nMorgan and opener Alex Hales have returned to the England side after skipping the Bangladesh tour due to security concerns as the tourists seek a first ODI series win in India since 1984-85.
\nMorgan\u2019s ODI team enjoyed a successful 2016, winning 11 and losing five out of their 17 matches. They are presently coming off a run where they have lost only two out of 12 games.
\n“The next five months for us is going to be crucial… it\u2019s not the be all and end all in this series but the confidence we would build winning here would be brilliant,” said Morgan.
\nEngland\u2019s batting had shown their might during their successful 305-run chase in the first warm-up against the Dhoni-led India A with Sam Billings hitting a gutsy 93.
\nBut Morgan\u2019s own form seems to be a worry for the visitors after the left-handed batsman managed three and zero respectively in the two warm-up games against India A.
\nWith new dad Joe Root, who joined the squad on Friday, likely to make the starting line-up the tourists are expected to test India\u2019s bowling led by premier spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
\nEngland spinners Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid were hardly a patch on India\u2019s Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the Test matches but ODI and T20 cricket could be a different ball game.
\nEngland have lost 50 of their 93 ODIs against India but have won their previous three outings against the Asian cricketing giants.
\nIndia ODI Squad: Virat Kohli (capt), Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Lokesh Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Manish Pandey, Yuvraj Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, Hardik Pandya, Kedar Jadhav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav.
\nEngland ODI Squad: Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jonathan Bairstow, Jake Ball, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Liam Dawson, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NEW DELHI:India\u2019s new skipper Virat Kohli has his eyes firmly fixed on the 2019 World Cup as his side begins the year with a limited overs series against a new-look England starting Sunday. Kohli, who led India to a 4-0 Test demolition of England last year, is now India\u2019s skipper across all formats after Mahendra […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9866,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9837","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n