IND vs ENG: Indian Cricket Team 15-member squad for ODI series against England - Predicted

IND vs ENG: India will host England in a three-match ODI series ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

After losing two consecutive test series, the Indian cricket team will turn their heads towards white-ball cricket.

Starting January 22, India will host England for a five-match T20I series and a three-match ODI series. The three ODIs will be played in Nagpur, Cuttack, and Ahmedabad, and they will act as a preparatory series for both teams ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy.

In 2024, India played only one ODI series, which was in Sri Lanka, where they lost 0-2 and were outspun by the Lankan spinners.

For the England ODIs, India are expected to rest fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj to manage their workloads after a long test season.

Let’s see what is likely to be India’s 15-man squad for the three-match ODI series against England.

IND vs ENG: India’s 15-member predicted squad for ODI series against England

1. Rohit Sharma (C)

Rohit Sharma will continue to lead India in ODIs at least until the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, but his form is a huge concern. He’s had a terrible season of test cricket, where he managed an average of 10.9 in eight tests and had to drop himself for the Sydney test.

However, he had a terrific year in white-ball cricket in 2024. In the three ODIs in Sri Lanka, he whacked 157 runs at a strike rate of 141, apart from leading the T20I side to glory at the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, where he gave brisk starts like he had done during the World Cup 2023. The issue with Rohit in white-ball cricket over the last few years is that he’s not been converting his starts into big scores as he used to do during the 2013-2019 period.

2. Shubman Gill

Although he remains a first-choice opener, Shubman Gill has suffered a dip in form and needs to get at least one hefty knock against England.

Against Sri Lanka, he managed only 57 runs in three outings at a strike rate of 61 with a highest score of 35. He was named the vice-captain in white-ball cricket last year, but now is fighting to cement his place in the side once again as Yashasvi Jaiswal breathes down his neck.

3. Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli will return to his best format – ODI cricket. In Sri Lanka, he managed only 58 runs in three innings but batting was really tough on the spin-friendly Colombo surfaces as the ball got older.

He had a record-breaking World Cup 2023 and would look to have another great ICC Champions Trophy. Before that, he faces England in the ODIs, against whom he averages 49 at home.

4. Shreyas Iyer

Despite cementing his position at No. 4 during the World Cup 2023, with 530 runs and a century in the semi-final, Shreyas Iyer was moved out of that spot in Sri Lanka by new head coach Gautam Gambhir, who wanted to play a left-hander ahead of Iyer.

It affected him terribly as he could muster only 38 runs in Sri Lanka in three ODIs. Iyer must bat at No. 4 against England and in the Champions Trophy, all of which will be played on good batting surfaces.

5. KL Rahul (wk)

Similar to Iyer, KL Rahul, too, had a great time during the World Cup 2023 at No. 5 (452 runs), but Gambhir shuffled his slot and even dropped him in Sri Lanka as Rishabh Pant made his ODI comeback.

Now with Pant back, it would be interesting to see where does Rahul fit in the ODI side. Nobody scored more runs than Rahul at No. 5 in the World Cup 2023.

Both Rahul and Iyer showed adaptability at playing the anchor and aggressive role during the competition but their positions and security have now been muddled.

6. Rishabh Pant (wk)

Rishabh Pant made his ODI comeback in Sri Lanka, but managed only six runs in one innings. Nonetheless, he is expected to feature in the XI against England and in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. It’s very likely that he would replace either Iyer or Rahul in the side.

7. Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya had opted out of the Sri Lanka ODIs and his last ODI match was during the ODI World Cup in 2023, when he got injured in the middle of the tournament.

He has been stripped off the vice-captaincy in white-ball cricket but produced match-winning performances in T20Is in 2024. He remains the key cog in balancing India’s XI in white-ball cricket.

8. Riyan Parag

After a stunning 2023/24 domestic season and IPL 2024 season, Riyan Parag earned his debut in both white-ball formats.

He played one ODI in Sri Lanka, in which he scored 15 runs but picked up three wickets. He had also snapped three wickets during the T20I series.

Parag has made a strong case for his inclusion in India’s squad for the England ODIs and the Champions Trophy.

9. Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja was rested from the ODI series in Sri Lanka. He is expected to return to the ODI XI against England.

Jadeja’s performance in white-ball cricket has not been up to the mark. If he doesn’t do well against England, India might think of giving Axar the nod in the first-choice XI in the Champions Trophy after his impressive performance during the T20 World Cup, where he seemed to have earned Rohit’s trust as a better all-rounder than Jadeja.

10. Axar Patel

Axar Patel has made a compelling case to be part of India’s first-choice XI in white-ball cricket even in the presence of Jadeja.

With Jadeja rested in Sri Lanka, Axar played all three matches and had the second-best batting average among Indian batsmen and picked up four wickets.

His economical bowling and power-hitting during the T20 World Cup 2024 was significant in India winning the competition.

11. Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep Yadav is currently recovering from a chronic left groin issue. If he is fit, he will walk into India’s squad for the ODIs against England and the Champions Trophy.

In three ODIs in Sri Lanka, he bagged four wickets and had an economy of only 3.40. During the World Cup 2023, he claimed 15 wickets and had an economy of less than 4.5.

12. Mohammed Shami

Mohammed Shami has been out of international cricket since the World Cup 2023, where he took 27 wickets in only seven matches.

He’s made a comeback to domestic cricket and has been playing regularly for Bengal. It feels that his comeback to international cricket will happen with the ODIs against England.

13. Arshdeep Singh

India need a left-arm pacer in the pace attack in the ODI setup and they are apparently grooming Arshdeep Singh for that role. While Arshdeep has been outstanding in T20Is, he needs improvement in ODIs: 12 wickets in eight games at an average of 24. Nonetheless, there’s plenty of potential in Arshdeep as an ODI bowler.

14. Harshit Rana

Harshit Rana was part of the ODI squad in Sri Lanka, but didn’t get a chance. He has 22 wickets in 14 List-A matches.

What keeps Rana ahead of other Indian pacers is his ability to bat and provide some crucial runs down the order.

15. Shivam Dube

Shivam Dube was part of the ODI squad in Sri Lanka, but managed only 34 runs in three games, albeit in extremely tough batting conditions. He picked up one wicket in 10 overs but maintained a good economy of 3.80.

Nitish Kumar Reddy is another seam-bowling all-rounder India can look to as the backup of Hardik Pandya.

For more updates, follow Khel Now Cricket on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.