ODI World Cup 2023: England appoint Indian sidearm specialist to tackle left-arm seamers

The defending champions, England, have appointed Saurabh Ambatkar, India’s side-arm specialist, ahead of the upcoming ODI World Cup, which is slated to begin on October 5. The idea is to tackle left-arm seamers well in the tournament, and hence, the Three Lions have brought him on board. He joined the squad in Guwahati ahead of the warm-up match against India and will travel with the squad for the rest of the tournament.

Notably, there’s a surge in sidearm specialists in modern-day cricket, and it gives batters some understanding of the areas they need to improve. Saurabh, meanwhile, has worked with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) before and, hence, can prove to be extremely impactful for England. 

Currently, all four England coaches are right-arm throwers, and because of the same, they were looking for a left-handed specialist, and Saurabh fits perfectly into the role. He has worked alongside England manager Wayne Bentley at KKR, and hence, the team management was aware of the things he could bring to the table.

England, meanwhile, have a history of struggling against left-arm pacers, as players like Mitchell Starc, Jason Behrendorff and Trent Boult have a lot of success against them. In the 2023 edition, Starc, Boult and Shaheen Shah Afridi can prove to be deadly against them and hence, the team management decided to appoint Saurabh. 

Other than a side-arm specialist, ESPNcricinfo reported that the Jos Buttler-led side has also enlisted a local massage therapist. Mahesh Arya will be joining their medical team and will be part of the team for the entire tournament. He will be supporting Mark Saxby, physio Craig de Weymarn, strength and conditioning coach Andy Mitchell, and team doctor Rob Young.

Meanwhile, England will host New Zealand at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad for their first game in the competition. On the other hand, their first warm-up game against India was called off due to rain while they picked up a comfortable four-wicket win over Bangladesh in the second match.