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After India ended its Test cricketing assignments, going down by 0-3 against New Zealand followed by 1-3 loss against Australia in the highly-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25, they will now shift their action on the upcoming England tour. However, red-ball cricket is nowhere to be seen in the Indian calendar until May-June 2025, India will host England in a white-ball tour, starting January 22.
The Men in Blue will lock horns with England in a five-match T20I series, followed by three-match ODI series, before flying to the UAE for the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025. Team India’s ODI and Test skipper Rohit Sharma and batting stalwart Virat Kohli, who had a forgettable outing down under, will aim to get back their form ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy, which makes its return for the first time since 2017.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to play ODI series against England: Reports
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will shortly announce India’s squad for the upcoming England series, a report from SportsTak has revealed that the two senior batters will feature in the three-match ODI series against England, starting February 6. This report comes contrary to the report which earlier revealed that they might skip the England series and directly feature in the Champions Trophy 2025, which will commence from February 19.
The upcoming ODI series proves to be vital for the Men in Blue seeing the Champions Trophy ahead. Moreover, a report by India Today had added that Jasprit Bumrah will be rested for the England series in order to manage his workload. Bumrah’s workload has been a topic of discussion in the past few weeks, especially seeing the pacer bowl over 151 overs in the BGT 2024-25.
The mounting workload on Bumrah was eventually visible in the fifth Test in Sydney as he walked off the field after bowling just 10 overs. It was later revealed that the 31-year-old was suffering with Back spasm issues and was forced to leave SCG with team doctor for further scans. The cricketer himself opened up on the injury after receiving the Player of the Series award as he said, “Little frustrating but sometimes you have to respect your body, you can’t fight your body. Disappointing, probably missed out on the spiciest wicket of the series. Felt a bit of discomfort during my second spell in the first innings.”
