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Virat Kohli’s ex-teammate is confident for his form for the upcoming ODI series against England and the 2025 Champions Trophy.
Virat Kohli is India’s highest run-scorer against England among current batters.
Virat Kohli’s former teammate Suresh Raina is confident of the right-hander’s form for the upcoming five-ODI series against England and the ensuing 2025 Champions Trophy. Raina believes Kohli knows how to ‘switch on and off’ his tempo in white-ball cricket while his previous exploits against England will give him energy.
Kohli had a tough 2024 in international cricket. He played a couple of good knocks, like his half-century in the 2024 T20 World Cup final and the century in the first Test in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. But, apart from that, he was quite inconsistent and bowlers found it easy to exploit his weakness.
The upcoming ODIs might change that. It’s his favorite format stats-wise and the wickets in 50-over internationals also tend to be flatter with a lot of support for batters’ high-scoring.
“When it comes to white-ball cricket, Virat knows how to switch on and switch off. He has scored the most runs against England, so his energy will be at a different level automatically. The three ODIs will be played in Nagpur, Ahmedabad, and Cuttack — all of which are high-scoring venues,” Raina said on Tuesday, two days before the first ODI against England, while speaking to broadcaster Star Sports.
Kohli has an excellent record against England in ODIs, with 1340 runs in 36 matches at an average of 41.87. Among the current batters, he’s India’s highest run-scorer against the Englishmen in the final.
Rohit’s choice of team combination will be crucial: Suresh Raina
Asked about the team’s spin combination, Raina said only all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja seems certain for now, while it’ll be ‘crucial’ who skipper Rohit Sharma selects among the others.
“I think (Ravindra) Jadeja will definitely play because of his effectiveness in ODIs. Kuldeep (Yadav) has not played a match since his injury, but we also have Axar Patel, who has been consistently performing well. The pitches in Dubai will offer some seam movement, but spin will also play a role. That’s why Kuldeep, Axar, and Jadeja need to be in top form. Rohit’s choice of team combination will be crucial.”
These are not the only options for the team, either. On Tuesday, the team confirmed that in-form uncapped ODI spinner Varun Chakaravarthy has been added to the 15-member squad.
