Nagpur (Maharashtra) [India], February 4 (ANI): India vice-captain Shubman Gill on Tuesday set the tone for the upcoming ODI series against England and said that the Men in Blue are not taking it as a practice for the Champions Trophy 2025.
India will take on England for the first ODI match of the series at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur on Thursday.
The second ODI match between India and England will be played at Cuttack’s Barabati Stadium on Sunday. Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium will host the third and final match of the 50-over series on February 12.
India’s squad for the three-match ODI match series remains the same as that for the ICC Champions Trophy, with one change–Harshit Rana replacing Jasprit Bumrah.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Shubman Gill hailed the Three Lions and said that they are going to play against a “good side” in the upcoming ODI series. He added that the ODIs against England are “very important” for them.
“I think we are playing against a good side. Three ODIs and we are not taking this as a practice for the Champions Trophy. I think this is a very important series for us. Every series is very important and we are looking to dominate and win this series like any other series,” Gill told reporters.
When asked about his vice-captaincy, the 25-year-old added that he takes it as a challenge to lead the team with his performance with the bat and on the field with skipper Rohit Sharma.
Gill added that it’s his duty to share his thoughts about the game with the skipper.
“I have been given an added responsibility. I take it as a challenge to lead my way firstly with my performance and then definitely in the field if Rohit (Sharma) bhai would want my opinions or anything. I think it’s my duty to let him know what my thoughts are on the game,” he added.
Gill was appointed as skipper Rohit Sharma’s deputy in the ICC Champions Trophy squad. This came even as the young batter had a poor Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series against Australia, scoring just 93 runs in five innings at an average of 18.60. Previously, during the Sri Lanka tour held last year, Gill was deputy to T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Rohit in ODIs.
In 47 ODIs, Gill has scored 2,328 runs at an average of 58.20, with a strike rate of 101.74. He has made six centuries and 13 fifties in the format, with the best score of 208.
In his last appearance in ODIs for India, he played the Sri Lanka series last year, making 57 runs in three innings at an average of 19.00 and best score of 35. In his ICC Cricket World Cup debut in 2023, Gill delivered a solid performance with 354 runs in nine matches at an average of 44.25 and a strike rate of 106.24. This included four half-centuries, including 92 against Sri Lanka and 80* against New Zealand in the semifinals.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced that star spinner Varun Chakaravarthy has been added to Team India’s squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against England.
Varun picked 14 wickets, which included a five-wicket haul in Rajkot in the recently concluded 5-match T20I series against England. He was also the player of the series for his stellar bowling performance. Varun has joined the ODI squad in Nagpur, a release from BCCI stated.
India’s updated squad for ODI series against England: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy. (ANI)
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