England vs India, 1st ODI Predicted Playing XI: Virat Kohli in doubt for opener; Ben Stokes likely to return
India Today
India tour of England: Virat Kohli missed the optional practice on the eve of the opening match of the ODI series after picking up a groin injury.
India may have won the T20I leg of their tour to England, but the series exposed plenty of weaknesses of Rohit Sharma's team.
To start with, the Indian top-order is still struggling to find a strong foot in the middle. The unsettled top-order and benching of in-form young players denied India to secure a clean sweep over England 2-1 in the T20Is.
As all eyes will be on Virat Kohli, who has been enduring a lean patch for quite some time, the former India captain is in doubt for the opening ODI match, which will be held at the Oval on Tuesday.
The match will begin at 5.30 pm IST.
Kohli missed the optional practice on the eve of the match after picking up a groin injury, according to PTI. Although the extent of his niggle is still unknown, the management wouldn't mind giving Kohli some time to recover.
In Kohli's absence, the Indian think-tank could bring in Suryakumar Yadav at number three, followed by Shreyas Iyer at No. 4. Suryakumar is in great form as he smashed a century in the third T20I. To manage the players' workload, Shardul Thakur can replace Ravindra Jadeja, who played the T20Is.
Jasprit Bumrah, along with either Mohammed Shami or Mohammed Siraj, is expected to lead as Bhuvneshwar Kumar was not named for the ODIs.
