India look to settle combination worries against England in last CT tune-up

Form and fitness of seasoned stars is under the scanner as India enter the final phase of their Champions Trophy preparations with the threematch ODI series against England starting on Thursday aiming to find the right balance for some specific slots in the lineupThe likes of skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been under tremendous scrutiny after their dismal run in redball cricketThe two stars after making hyped but disappointing appearances in Ranji Trophy last month will be eyeing strong performances in a format that they have dominated for several yearsThey were the top two rungetters of the 2023 World Cup with Kohli scoring 765 and Rohit smashing 597Since that World Cup which India let slip in the final afer going unbeaten throughout the two have only featured in a threematch ODI series loss to Sri Lanka where Rohit scored two fifties while Kohli didnt have a great runThe slump intensified in Tests and in the last three months the two heroes of Indias most recent T20 World Cup triumph have faced numerous calls to decide on their futureThe ODI series against England is Indias only tuneup tournament for the Champions Trophy to be held in Pakistan and Dubai from February 19 The eightteam competition could be a makeorbreak event for the two stalwarts who have already retired from T20IsHowever their form is not the solitary concern for the outfitOne of the grey areas is the wicketkeepers slot Who among KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant should get the nod for the playing XI With skipper Rohit and his deputy Shubman Gill likely to open followed by Kohli Shreyas Iyer and Hardik Pandya the wicketkeeperbatter is likely to slot in at number fiveRahul who kept wickets in Pants absence during the 2023 World Cup performed admirably scoring 452 runs and proving to be one of Indias most consistent middleorder battersHis stability has been instrumental in creating a formidable ODI setup but his strike rotation in the middle overs remains a concernOn the other hand the lefthanded Pant offers variety in Indias righthand dominated top order Additionally his unpredictability raw power and ability to clear with breathtaking ease make him the XfactorThe Indian think tank could always go with both but that would likely come at the expense of Iyer who despite underperforming in the Sri Lanka series has been a prolific contributor His exploits in the domestic season are hard to ignoreThe series will also test the preparedness of veteran pacer Mohammed Shami and wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav both of whom had been laid low by injuries and could be key to Indias success in the Champions TrophyWhile Shami played two T20s against England in the recentlyconcluded series Kuldeep hasnt donned the India colours since the first Test against New Zealand in OctoberSpearhead Jasprit Bumrah was never in contention for this series due to a back problemInform mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy is expected to get a debut to strengthen his case for inclusion in the Champions Trophy squadHe troubled the England batters in the T20Is after bamboozling Bangladesh in another home series last OctoberThe team management also have to make a tough choice for the spin allrounders position Ravindra Jadeja who hasnt played an ODI since the 2023 ODI World Cup final Axar Patel and Washington Sundar are all in contention and it is not yet clear how this will be settledEngland too will look to iron out the chinks in their armour and present a stronger challenge But the task is easier said than done given that they have lost backtoback 50over series against Australia in September and West Indies in NovemberJoe Root is the only addition to the team to their batting lineup which will largely be the same as the one that struggled in the T20sWicketkeeper Jamie Smith is likely to miss the first two ODIs due to a calf issueWith agency inputs