India vs England, 1st ODI - Cues from Nagpur nets: Ahead of Champions Trophy, Rohit Sharma and Co to follow ODI World Cup 2023 template

Around 12:50 PM on Tuesday with Nagpur’s temperature hovering in the mid-30s, Mohammed Shami stepped out of the dressing room at the Jamtha Stadium with his hands full of white balls. He was followed by Team India captain Rohit Sharma and former skipper Virat Kohli. The veteran pacer, who has returned to the mix after a long layoff, looked in good rhythm, a good omen ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy.

Shami, who is likely to play his first ODI on Thursday since the World Cup final, had head coach Gautam Gambhir repeatedly applauding as he bowled to the top Indian batsmen and all-rounders.

Shami kept steaming in for 90 minutes, showing what Jasprit Bumrah missed from the other end in Australia.

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Meanwhile, Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh, the two other pacers in the squad, had relatively lighter stints.

Shami played only two games in the recent T20I series against England and in Bumrah’s absence, Rohit and Gambhir will be banking on the 2023 ODI World Cup’s leading wicket-taker.

Rohit and Kohli, who struggled in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and in their respective Ranji Trophy games, looked more at ease against the white ball. Despite mistiming a couple of pull shots against Shami, Rohit looked to dominate. He was stepping out against all bowlers and looked to dominate, an approach he employed to good effect in the ODI World Cup. Under Rohit’s captaincy, India’s white-ball game has evolved over the last couple of years. By becoming an all-out aggressive opener, he has set the template for the rest to follow. Rohit amassed 597 runs with a strike rate of 125.94 in that tournament and continued in the same vein at last year’s T20 World Cup, where India ended its 11-year ICC title drought.

His deputy Shubman Gill had high praise for his opening partner in ODIs.

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“The way Rohit bhai has been batting in the ODIs in the past year and a half, it’s been really game-changing for us. By taking the momentum right from the start and taking the game away from ball one, he makes the job of the non-striker and the batsmen coming in a bit easier. It has helped our team a lot,” he told reporters in the press conference.

India’s Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli with teammates during a training session ahead of the first ODI cricket match against England, at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur, Maharashtra on Tuesday. (PTI Photo) India’s Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli with teammates during a training session ahead of the first ODI cricket match against England, at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur, Maharashtra on Tuesday. (PTI Photo)

Not broken, don’t fix it

If Rohit was going bonkers, Kohli was playing the role of accumulator, as he did with great success in the ODI World Cup where he was the run-getter. Against Arshdeep and Rana, he looked compact and played exquisite drives, but against the spinners, he looked to use his feet.

The two veteran batsmen employed a fascinating template during India’s intense training session. Rohit and Kohli were taking turns to go into the pacers’ and spinners’ nets. They would face six deliveries from the pacers – two each from Shami, Arshdeep and Rana before going into the other nets. They did the same against the spinners. A few times while doing so, they were seen talking, maybe telling each other what they had noticed.

Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant was hitting spinners into the stands with his one-handed shots, the cheeky ramp and falling sweep shots. Meanwhile, KL Rahul looked to pierce the gaps. He took a risk against off-spinner Washington Sundar, hitting him down the ground, but only when he looked set. Rahul also kept wickets, while Pant only batted, which may be an indication as to who is the front-runner to don the big gloves.

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Despite the rich form that Yashasvi Jaiswal has shown recently – he was hitting the spinners farther than even Pant – he may have to sit out.

Shreyas Iyer, who too had a great ODI World Cup with 530 runs, was tested by throwdown experts with bouncers. Against the spinners, the Mumbai batsman was at his attacking best and smoked Varun Chakravarthy, who has been added to India’s squad for this series.

What was evident from the three-and-a-half-hour practice session was that India will continue to play the ODI format with the same aggressive template that has served them well in two ICC World Cups in the last 15 months, and are ready to accept the risks that come with it.

Coach Gambhir, after winning the T20I series against England 4-1, had described the team’s approach in white-ball cricket.

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“Unless and until you don’t play that high-risk cricket, you won’t get those big rewards as well… Come those big tournaments, we want to still continue playing this way and don’t want to fear losing anything,” he said.

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