Follow UsAhead of the first One-Day International (ODI) against India in Nagpur on February 6 (Thursday), England captain Jos Buttler said his team couldn’t have asked for a better preparation for the 2025 Champions Trophy than this tour to India. England are coming into the series having lost four out of five T20Is against the Men in Blue.
England will have the service of Joe Root, who wasn’t part of the T20I series. Root, who last played an ODI in 2023, had a great SA20 in South Africa but hasn’t had great numbers in the 50-over format since 2020. In 28 ODIs in this period, Root has managed 666 runs at a mediocre average of 28.96 and a strike rate of 81.8.
“Root is one of the great players of the game, so in all the formats here he’s obviously been a vital part of ODI cricket for England for a long time,” said Buttler.
“He’s got loads of experience in ODI cricket, which would be great for some of the guys who haven’t played as much in our group. He’s been a vital player for England in all formats, and we feel like he’s got a crucial role for us to play in these games.”
Talking about England’s preparation for the Champions Trophy, Buttler added: “As preparation goes for any tournament, I think taking on India in India is always going to be a great challenge and as good a preparation as you can have."
“The conditions here in India may be similar (to those in Pakistan). Each ground that we play at always has their own nuances and a little bit of difference. We’re always trying to adapt to that.”
Buttler said England will continue to play an aggressive brand of cricket and try to put oppositions under pressure. “We want to find ways to put pressure on the opposition with the bat. You’ve got to take wickets, I think, and it’s crucial you see how, if you let guys back for a period of time, they can go on to hurt you."
“So, we’ll be desperate to try and find ways of taking wickets. It’s always about execution, really. Whether you want to be aggressive, you want to be conservative, you want to be measured, you’ve still got to go out there and execute it and play it well.”
The 34-year-old also praised Indian captain Rohit Sharma’s batting approach in the 50-over format. The opener has struggled in Test cricket, but his numbers in ODIs have been quite impressive. In ODIs since 2023, Rohit has slammed 1412 runs in 29 innings at an average of 52.3 and a strike rate of almost 120.
“If I look back at that World Cup (2023), the two teams in the final were playing a really positive and aggressive round of cricket, you think of the way Travis Head took that final on with the bats, so you see it can be successful,” he said.
“Obviously, Rohit takes a lot of credit for the way he’s come out and played himself as a captain and pushed India more towards that style of cricket, so absolutely, we want to be exactly the same.”
Buttler also spoke about the relevance of ODI cricket. “I’m unsure (about ODI’s future). I’ve really enjoyed 50-over cricket. It’s always been one of my favourite formats. But it’s certainly been pushed a little bit towards the margins in the recent years and the way scheduling is, and obviously the rise of T20 and franchise cricket.
“But I still believe if you talk to guys about winning a World Cup, they’d probably say a 50-over World Cup ahead of a T20 World Cup at the moment. Whether that continues to be the case moving forward, I don’t know. But the schedules are always the thing. If you can get the best players on the park, playing against each other in whatever the format, I think people are always going to be excited to watch it.”