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Duckett remains of the belief that as long as the England side click at the Champions Trophy, then all would be forgotten.
Ben Duckett for England (AP)
England opener Ben Duckett said on Tuesday even a 3-0 whitewash in the current ODI series against India will not affect the team’s morale as their eyes are set on capturing the upcoming 2025 Champions Trophy.
England will take on India in the third and final ODI in Ahmedabad on Wednesday after the hosts took an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
With the Champions Trophy. starting February 19 in Pakistan and Dubai, lying just ahead, Duckett stated that England would be least bothered even if India were to seal the series tomorrow with a clean sweep.
“We have come here for one thing and that is to win the Champions Trophy,” said Duckett.
“We still believe we can do that. It’ll be completely different conditions, all different teams we are playing against.”
“If we lose 3-0 to India, I don’t care as long as we beat them in the final of the Champions Trophy. If we do that, we probably won’t look back on this if we do the business in that competition,” exclaimed the left-handed opening batter.
England, led by wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler, will begin their Champions Trophy campaign against Ashes rivals Australia in Lahore on February 22, after which they will take on Afghanistan and South Africa in their other two group fixtures.
England’s tour of India, coach Brendon McCullum’s first assignment as coach of the white-ball team, has been off to a horrendous start for the visitors who suffered a 4-1 T20I series loss before the ODIs commenced.
But Duckett remains of the belief that as long as the England side click at the Champions Trophy, then all would be forgotten.
“It’s about peaking at the right time,” said Duckett. “We have been close against this India side and we have been nowhere near our best. We will always take positives.”
“We could dwell, start meetings and going at each other but the group under Baz (McCullum) aren’t going to do that.
“It’s difficult not to get the results here, but hopefully we can turn it around in Pakistan.”
Regardless of it all, one can still bet that England will look to avoid a whitewash with a comeback win in the third ODI, set to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on wednesday, February 12.
