HYDERABAD: Injury-ravaged India hope to make a fresh start in the new season by defeating England in the One-day International series at home, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said on Thursday.
India’s World Cup triumph in April was overshadowed by a disastrous tour of England a few months later when they were blanked 4-0 in the Test series to lose the number one ranking and also lost the one-day series 3-0.
Dhoni’s men get a chance to redeem themselves when they take on Alastair Cook’s Englishmen in a five-match one-day series that opens here at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Friday.
“Our objective is to make a victorious start to the new season,” Dhoni wrote in an exclusive piece for the Indian cricket board’s official website.
“We may have not been up to the mark in England, but the fact is that before that tour, we won the game’s biggest prize, the World Cup. Our performances over the past three seasons speak for themselves.
“I am convinced that it is only a matter of time before we turn the tide.”
Injuries to key players have taken such a heavy toll on the Indians that the 15-man squad for the England one-dayers has just four survivors from the side that beat Sri Lanka in the World Cup final.
Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel have been sidelined with injuries, while Harbhajan and Shanthakumaran Sreesanth were dropped due to poor form.
Dhoni hoped his three other World Cup team-mates – Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli – will lead the batting charge against the buoyant Englishmen.
“As the senior components of the batting line-up, the onus is on us to defy the opposition bowlers and take the team to secure territory,” the skipper wrote.
Seamer Praveen Kumar remains the only experienced bowler in the depleted squad expected to contain the England line-up on traditionally batting-friendly wickets.
Three bowlers — leg-spinner Rahul Sharma, 24, left-arm seamer Sreenath Aravind, 27, and fast bowler Varun Aaron, 21 — have yet to play international cricket.
Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Sharma will be the three spin options, while Praveen leads a new-ball attack that also includes unheralded Umesh Yadav and Vinay Kumar.
Dhoni, however, remained confident the new-look attack will deliver.
“I believe the new boys will be good enough to bowl on wickets that are likely to suit the batsmen,” he remarked. “They have grown up bowling in these conditions and know the wickets well.”
Meanwhile, England skipper Alastair Cook said his team’s recent demolition of India at home will have no bearing when the two teams clash again in the ODI series here.
Cook refused to take victory for granted against the injury-hit world champions, saying the previous contests in England will count for nothing on Indian soil.
“What’s gone is gone and we are totally off it,” the England captain said on Thursday ahead of the first ODI. “This is a new series and everyone knows how strong India are at home.”
Squads:
ENGLAND: Alastair Cook (captain), Craig Kieswetter, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Bairstow, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Samit Patel, Chris Woakes, Tim Bresnan, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Stuart Meaker, Graeme Swann, Scott Borthwick.
INDIA: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Gautam Gambhir, Parthiv Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Manoj Tiwary, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Rahul Sharma, Varun Aaron, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, Sreenath Aravind, Praveen Kumar.