The failure of Indian openers to give a good start in the recent past has been a cause of concern for Team India. Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir have both struggled for form resulting in Sehwag, who holds the record for the highest individual score of 219 in ODIs, being dropped, says a report in Deccan Chronicle, stating that MS Dhoni hoped the openers lived up to expectations in the upcoming ODI series against England.
“The stats suggest that for quite some time we have not got off to a very good start in terms of a partnership. Yes, the openers have been scoring runs on and off, but we have not been able to get a good partnership between them as of them has been getting out,”India captain M.S.Dhoni admitted on Thurday.
“We are hoping to get good starts in this series. Jinks is the new opener. He has played on and off and done decently well, so we are hoping that we will get off to a good start.”
Meanwhile according to a report in Deccan Herald, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Thursday said stepping down from the ODI captaincy was something he hasn't thought about and left it to the selectors to take the call.
On the eve of the first ODI here against England, when asked whether he had thought about stepping down as captain from any of the versions, Dhoni said: "Never... In team sport, it is important that everyone keeps believing in themselves and understands their responsibility."
Dhoni said it was for the selectors to decide his future as captain. "We have to wait and watch (the selectors) but that's something that is not in my mind before the start of an important series. I can't think about that. It is very important to stay focused on this series," he said.
Meanwhile The Hindu writes that the onset of a fresh clash between India and England on Indian soil is viewed by the visitor as an opportunity to reproduce the resilience it showed in the four-Test series and outwit the home team in the five-match One-Day Internationals that is set to start at a new venue here on Friday.
“It has been only a week short of a month when Alastair Cook’s team displayed the English bulldog spirit to stun India 2-1 in the Test rubber. An upbeat England is keen to improve its one-day record in a country where it has not won a bilateral series for 27 years. It has also lost Champions Trophy and World Cup matches to India. The odds appear to be stacked against it especially after it received a 5-0 drubbing on the last two tours (2008 and 2011). It had lost the 2006 series 1-5,” says the report, adding that while it may fancy its chances, even with a limited set of experienced batsmen in Cook, Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell, the outcome of the series in its favour would largely depend on its pace attack.