MS Dhoni to play warm-up matches against England

Team India is all set to kick off their new year with a 3-match ODI series and 3-match T20I series against the Englishmen that begins from 15th January with the 1st ODI scheduled to be played at the Gahunje Stadium in Pune. Prior to the series reports from the Indian Express claim that the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja could be rested from the upcoming series, keeping in the mind the busy Test schedule.

Following the England tour, Bangladesh will come to India for a one-off Test in February which will be followed by the four-match Test series against the Aussies. Off-spinner Jayant Yadav who was impressive during his debut Test series against the same opponents might also be rested for the limited-overs leg.

India had opted for a similar sort of strategy during their recent 3-2 series win against the Kiwis where Jadeja, Ashwin, Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were rested giving plenty of youngsters an opportunity. Indian limited-overs skippers MS Dhoni who will be back for the series is expected to play the two warm-up matches for the Board President’s XI against England prior to the ODI series and has confirmed BCCI about his availability for the two games.

Shikhar Dhawan who last played for India in the 2nd Test against New Zealand is also expected to join Dhoni along with triple centurion Karun Nair and Manish Pandey who were in the Indian squad for the Test series against England.

Ajinkya Rahane who missed the last three Tests against England is expected to play the 2nd of the two practice games. Rohit Sharma will be out of action for the next 12 weeks as he failed to recuperate after the surgery he underwent for his right thigh. It means Rohit is expected to miss the one-off Test against Bangladesh followed by the 4-match series against Australia.

The limited-overs series against England will be the last time India will don the coloured clothing before the Champions Trophy in England in June.