England's Tour of India, 2016/2017

[rahul1117kumar]

Shami joins Indian team to work on rehabilitation

Mohammed Shami, who is recovering from a knee injury, has been asked to join the Indian team at the Green Park stadium in Kanpur to work on his rehabilitation. Shami has been out of action since the first week of December, after the third Test against England in Mohali.

It is learnt that Shami was asked to join the team as there were doubts over the kind of facilities he was receiving back home.

"The facilities in his hometown are not good enough. That's why we asked him to come to Kanpur so that the team physio could keep a proper tab on his improvement," chairman of selectors MSK Prasad told TOI on Tuesday (January 24), while confirming that Shami will not take any part in the T20 series.

The National Cricket Academy doesn't have its leading physio's services because Patrick Farhart, who has designed a model for the trainers across the country, and trainer Anand Date are travelling with the team and physio Rajnikanth is busy working with the under-19 team.

Shami has been kept out of Bengal's first two Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 matches as well. "He hasn't recovered. How can he be allowed to play? We need to be very careful with him," Prasad said.

Shami has been plagued by injury since the 2015 World Cup and his return has been cut short by the reoccurrence of the injury. Having missed the limited-overs series against England, he will have no international matches with the white ball if he does regain fitness before the Champions Trophy, although he was seen bowling in the nets with a slow run-up on Tuesday. "We have a big Test series coming up against Australia. We want him to play. As I have earlier stated, we want to stay at the top of the Test rankings for as long as possible. If he stays fit, we will get a fair idea how he is doing in the shorter formats during the IPL," Prasad said.

Shami joins Indian team to work on rehabilitation - Cricbuzz

 

[Sagar]

Good news for team India:tup he is very important player for India.
Specifically in death overs in limited overs cricket

 

[iSK]

So shami has joins Indian team to work on rehabilitation

 

[Ritesh]

 

[santosh]

Nightmare of Asian cricket team :s
temp image upload

 

[Sagar]

Good catch santosh bro :rofl, in that very hard was for pak & 100 times very very very easy for ban, but you know how played Bangladeshi on that day, they wanted finishing with six :rofl

 

[santosh]

Although 2 occasions are in t20 WC , i never wanted india to be seen here

 

[Sagar]

Although 2 occasions are in t20 WC , i never wanted india to be seen here

Hardly happens in odi but we cant say in t20is bro :tup

 

[Sagar]

India, England look to continue batting slug fest as T20I yearns for context

If you are in Kanpur and are on the look-out for a contextual narrative, you would be absolved for starting outside the Green Park Stadium. Unlike the almost-metronomic activities of those inside the old cricket complex, there's a gripping three-way political contest simmering outside of it - replete with curious coalitions, in-family feuding and the general games for throne. Ajay, a team vendor on the side lanes of the stadium, sums the mood ahead of the city's first day-night international game succinctly. 'Asli drama toh yahan hai bhaiyya' (The real drama is out here, brother)

As is now the norm, no good birthday party (read tour) is complete until a blindfolded child successfully adds a tail to a donkey to rapturous applause. From a more considerate standpoint, after patiently holding on for five Test matches, it is only fair that the TV producers and advertisers stand to make their pound of flesh.
But try telling England that the next T20 WC is in 2020 (despite the growing hubbub for a 2018 edition) or that victory in the series will mean very little in the bigger picture of tour - one that has assumed a so-close yet so far theme to it. There's more than just pride at stake and Tymal Mills, the 24-year-old tearaway quick with a congenital back problem, does admirably well to put the riders on these three games for the next couple of weeks and maybe years in perspective.
"Yes. I'm in the auction for the IPL, so hopefully this series will go well and Ill get picked up. I'm available for the whole tournament whereas I know some guys are not. This series will either help or hinder my reputation.

"Financially I don't earn very much in the UK playing for Sussex because I'm playing only T20 cricket, I now have to play these T20 tournaments around the world in terms of getting paid. If I get injured, then obviously I don't play in these tournaments and that affects me in a different way," he said ahead of the opening clash.

The significance of the series in the backdrop of the immediate past and the future isn't lost on the Indian think-tank either. Their first act after the 2-1 ODI series win was to wrap Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in cotton wool and prescribe the two lead spinners rest ahead of the more-important red-ball challenges.

Thankfully for the stakeholders of the series, the top draw Virat Kohli is playing - although he is due for a rest sometime now - and will officially complete the takeover as full-time captain of all three formats.

But Kohli being Kohli is always quick to point out that lessons in cricket can be cross-functional. So India, who will not play any 50-over cricket here on until the start of their Champions Trophy title defence, will, at least in theory, "try to use T20 batting as an extension of Test and One-Day batting". There's a little rankling over death bowling and opening batting too, which the series could yet serve to yield solutions for.

Most importantly, the games give a chance to a lot of fresh faces, and some old ones too, to present their case for more regular inclusion. Rishabh Pant arrives with the kind of confidence scoring 900-plus runs in a Ranji season over a strike-rate of 100 can give you. Expectedly, he will attract a lot of eyeballs should he do well. Yuzvendra Chahal, Mandeep Singh and Parvez Rasool have done well under Kohli for Royal Challengers Bangalore and would dearly love to replicate their efforts in the vastly different climes of the national team.

And finally, there's a sub-textual plot involving fresh leases of life. Suresh Raina, so often the heartbeat of white-ball sides, now attempts to rediscover his mojo and as for Ashish Nehra, the veteran once again stands to dispel the age-format corollary.

When: India vs England, 1st T20I, January 26, 16:30 IST, 11:00 GMT
Where: Green Park Stadium, Kanpur

What to expect: It's an early evening start because of visibility constraints with the fog. So the dynamics of playing with and without lights will definitely be a factor. The pitch sported a shade of green - for binding purposes - which was scrubbed away by the afternoon. All signs point at another run-fest. It's still the middle of winter in the north of the country, so expect temperatures to dip drastically as the game progresses with dew playing a part.

Team News:
India:
With an eye on the Champions Trophy, India will audition KL Rahul's temperament and technique at the top of the order despite the Karnataka opener's failings in the ODI series. The last time Rahul batted in a T20I, in Lauderhill, he went on to score one of the more memorable hundreds in a T20 chase. He should slot in, possibly alongside young sensation Pant, although Mandeep Singh could earn first rights of refusal by virtue of his regular presence in the national set-up of late. The rest of the middle-order should pick itself with Manish Pandey being the unlucky loser once more.
Nehra, returning after a layoff due to a knee surgery, should rekindle his successful partnership with Jasprit Bumrah from the T20 WC, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar's death-bowling abilities perhaps pushing India to sacrifice an additional spinner.

Probable XI: KL Rahul, Mandeep Singh/Rishabh Pant, Virat Kohli (c), Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Amit Mishra/Yuzvendra Chahal, Parvez Rasool/Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ashish Nehra

England:
T20 specialist Tymal Mills has generated quite a buzz ever since he rattled Chris Gayle with his pace in the Natwest T20 Blast. In the Big Bash League, the Sussex pacer clocked over 150 kmph and should add the left-handed dimension to England's attack, especially with David Willey ruled out of the first game with a minor shoulder injury. Joe Root returns after sitting out of the Kolkata ODI due to a niggle and will slot back in at No. 3. Chris Jordan's T20 skills will once more create a toss up between one of the seamers and leg spinner Adil Rashid.

Probable XI: Jason Roy, Sam Billings, Joe Root, Jos Buttler (wk), Eoin Morgan (c), Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid/Jake Ball, Tymal Mills

What they said:
"There is no doubt about the talent that is available in the English team. As you mentioned, the small window has been an issue. Not many teams would want to spend that much money on someone who is not available for full IPL. He comes and gives great balance to the side and leaves at a crucial stage of the tournament, which doesnt really help the side in any way. I would rather prefer to play a guy who is there for the whole tournament and gives you that extra balance. This is my point of view, franchises might have a different point of view."

- Virat Kohli has his say on the talk around England players auditioning for an IPL gig in the T20I series.

"Winning is the priority. Part and parcel of winning is improving skills along the way but reinforcing that you've done a good job in your skill is winning the game or at least winning one half of the game. Throughout the one-day series, we haven't put a complete performance together. It's about tying that in."

- Eoin Morgan believes the win in Kolkata in the dead-rubber ODI holds his side in good stead as they seek a complete performance.

:tupCricbuzz

 

[Sagar]

England focused on the here and now

On the face of it, a three match Twenty20 (T20) series is not what England need right now. With plenty to work on after their 2-1 one-day series loss to India, and ahead of the summer's Champions Trophy, another two One-Day Internationals (ODIs) may have been a better use of their time but Eoin Morgan thinks the T20 series, which begins in Kanpur on Thursday, still has plenty of relevance for their 50-over preparations.

"Yes it does," Morgan said on Wednesday (January 25), ahead of the match in Kanpur. "Simply because the group is very similar. I suppose going from the series that we've just played where our bowlers have found it quite difficult, honing on your specific skills to T20 cricket can also be relevant. We don't know where 50-over cricket is going.

Throughout the middle overs or even early on, we might just go for yorkers because that might work on a particular ground. So exploring that option and improving your skill to be able to do that might help the guys in the long run."

England's T20 squad for the series against India is broadly similar to the one that contested the ODI series. Only fast bowlers Tymal Mills and Chris Jordan have been added but the batting line-up remains broadly similar. With the quality of 50-over batting improving dramatically since the last World Cup - six of England's eight ODI scores over 350 have come since that tournament - are the requirements for batsmen and bowlers in both limited-over formats so vastly different?

"I know when the rules changed to have an extra man in the circle [in ODIs], it sort of nullified that what people call the boring period where you run the ball down for six runs an over because of that extra man back," said Morgan. "They are still different but trying to compare the two of them, you can in short spurts but not directly.

"I think what we are seeing nowadays is that actually your 50-over team is pretty much identical to your T20 team. And the same risk level and skill level you have to show in both forms is pretty evident whereas before the 2015 World Cup, you might have had three or four changes between the two groups. You must have had specialist T20 players coming in. Whereas we probably have only one or two now."

During that 2015 World Cup, Ian Bell and Gary Ballance batted in the top three, England relying, as ever, on Test players to fill their one-day side. Teams such as Australia, with David Warner and Aaron Finch opening, were attacking hell for leather from ball one whereas England were playing a different, vastly out of date, game of accumulation and keeping wickets in hand. That meant that when T20 games came around, England had to change far more of their one-day team.

Now, with more specialist white ball players in their ODI team, do England need T20 specialists anymore? "No, I don't think so. I think we're beyond that," said Morgan. "As I said, 50-over cricket and T20 cricket are similar and probably have grown more alike probably quicker than we thought but I don't think there is. It'll happen naturally but it will be a difference between being a Test player and a white-ball player as opposed to just a T20 player. We have one guy at the minute but that is because he is injury prone."

That player is Mills. The Sussex left-armer is currently branded a T20 specialist because it's the only format he plays. His body has broken down regularly when subjected to the rigours of the longer formats so he doesn't play them. That's not to say Mills's attributes couldn't easily be transferred to the 50-over game - if he was available, he would be selected for the ODI side. He may be a pioneer when it comes to English players solely focusing on T20 cricket but it is out of necessity rather than design.

"I think he's had an absolutely fantastic winter on two fronts," said Morgan. "The levels of fitness he's shown with his previous injury, it's been great. It's allowed him to play a lot of cricket, a lot of T20 stuff which he's starting to specialise in, which is great given where he was maybe two years ago. Being able to bowl and play consistently at the moment is a huge positive. And to bowl at the pace he is, it's even better for us."

England's last T20 in India was the T20 WC final against the West Indies last April which they lost thanks to Carlos Braithwaite's stunning assault in Ben Stokes's final over. That experience should have little relevance on this three match series and England, with their bolstered bowling line-up and powerful batting, start as marginal favourites.

The fact that it is a series at all, and not just a one-off match, provides the games with more context than T20s usually have. Should the series be as entertaining as the one-day matches that preceded it, perhaps it can be used as a template schedule for future international one-day tours of three ODI games and three T20 encounters. For now though, England are focused on the here and now.

"Winning is the priority," said Morgan. "Part and parcel of winning is improving skills along the way but reinforcing that you've done a good job in your skill is winning the game or at least winning one half of the game. So winning your batting innings or your bowling innings. But throughout the one-day series, we haven't put a complete performance together. So tying that in with T20 cricket. Our guys aren't hugely experienced either. We came here last year with an inexperienced T20 team and got to the final. The attitude and desire to win isn't a problem. It's just tying that in."

Cricbuzz