Former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik has stated that the Men in Blue will get a huge shot of confidence as big guns Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah will all be available for the upcoming three-match ODI series against England.
India is set to play three ODIs in England on July 14 in Birmingham, on July 16 in Cardiff and on July 19 at Lord’s. India has already lost the five-match T20I series 0-4 to England and will want to keep their preparation for the 2027 World Cup on course with a win over England in the 50-over format.
Given the concentration on the ODI World Cup 2027, practically a full-strength India squad is available, except for the injured Hardik Pandya and Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Dinesh Karthik believes that Team India must regain confidence in their ability to win, and that the veteran players may be the key to doing so.
“The big boys are back. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah will all play the ODI series. It almost feels like India currently needs a shot in the arm with some experience and match nous, and also the belief of what it takes to win bilaterals. They have missed it in the last couple in Ireland and England, and these players are going to make a huge difference," Dinesh Karthik said on Cricbuzz.
Virat Kohli will be playing his first ODIs since January this year as he had missed India’s 3-0 clean sweep over Afghanistan at home after suffering an injury in IPL 2026.
Dinesh Karthik stated that focusing on the ODI series immediately following a grueling T20I series will be a huge task for the coaching staff involved in both formats. Furthermore, he highlighted that the 50-over setup is not flying high due to inconsistent recent performances.
"They have a young captain in Shubman Gill; a lot of the players are in good form. We saw how they dominated against Afghanistan. For a while, the ODI side has been up and down. From here on, the journey will be how good and consistent they can be in the lead-up to the World Cup. There's plenty of skill on offer, but the key will be: do they get together as a team?
Is the current support staff able to park what happened in the T20s aside and get fresh and start a journey with this ODI team with the World Cup coming in just under 15 months?" Karthik added.
Under Shubman Gill's captaincy, Team India has won five out of nine ODI matches. His stint began with an away series loss to Australia, followed by a home series loss to New Zealand at the start of the year.
