India has travelled quite a distance over the past
four weeks thanks to the cricket caravan: from Bangalore to Colombo, Pallekele,
Colombo, Mohali, Indore, and Rajkot. The most recent pit stop is Guwahati in
northeastern India, where they will make their World Cup debut on Saturday when
they face England in the first warm-up.
India took a charter flight from Rajkot to arrive late
on Thursday. Four players—Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, R Ashwin, and Shardul
Thakur—attended an optional training session on Friday afternoon.
Unfortunately, England wasn’t that fortunate and had
to fly from London to Guwahati for about 38 hours, stopping in Dubai and Mumbai
along the way. While the “chaos”—as Jonny Bairstow described it in an
Instagram story—might subside, travel is not expected to.
England might take some solace from the fact that they
will play both of their exhibition matches in Guwahati, unlike India, who will
travel to Thiruvananthapuram for their second exhibition match against
Netherlands on October 2.
The fact that England has defeated India in their last
two matches in ICC competitions should give them some solace.
India abandoned their two-wristspinner plan after
England became the lone team to defeat them in the ODI World Cup league stage.
It turns out that only one of them, Kuldeep Yadav, has qualified for this World
Cup, but he has done so after spending two years in exile, returning to the
drawing board, and improving his run-up and rhythm, and rediscovering his verve
to become one of India’s trump cards.
The inclusion of Ashwin in the team after Axar Patel’s
injury is another noteworthy development. Despite only playing in four One-Day
Internationals (ODIs) in the last six years, including two this week against
Australia where he recorded combined figures of 4 for 88 over 17 overs, Ashwin,
a major component in India’s previous ICC victories at the 2011 World Cup and
2013 Champions Trophy, has made it.
Given the team’s preference to field someone who can
bat at No. 8, Ashwin will feel confident about his chances of reaching the
starting XI after forcing his way into the squad. Depending on the surfaces and
matchups India is likely to face, Ashwin and Thakur will compete for that
position.
Both teams are permitted to use all 15 members of the
roster, as is customary for warm-ups. Players recovering from injuries or
trying to find their form will receive extra attention. India has performed
admirably in these circumstances, having played frequently. English people will
wish to cross off their own top priorities.
With a lineup that can bat till No. 10, England has no
such worries, in contrast to India, who are short on hitting beyond No. 7. All
things considered, one thing to keep an eye on as they attempt to follow in the
footsteps of the West Indies and Australia by successfully defending their
World Cup title is how quickly they adjust to spin-friendly conditions.