England In India- First ODI Preview

Seamer Stuart Broad has been passed fit and named in England's team to face India in the first of seven one-day internationals in Rajkot on Friday.

Broad came through a fitness test on Thursday after missing Tuesday's final warm-up match with a sore knee.

Ryan Sidebottom has already been ruled out with an Achilles problem but James Anderson plays instead of Graeme Swann, with Samit Patel the only spinner.

Essex all-rounder Ravi Bopara has been included ahead of Sussex's Luke Wright.
Captain Kevin Pietersen said the selection was based on the performance of the wicket in recent matches and the current conditions at the Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground.

Bopara, who has yet to bowl on tour, is recalled for the first time since the opening one-day international against South Africa in August, while Wright's omission brings to an end a run of 14 consecutive ODIs.

"Ravi has earned his recall," said Pietersen. "He's been on the sidelines for a lot of the cricket we've played for the last however long.

"I'm a big Ravi Bopara fan on these wickets and we wanted to give him a go - I think he's so exciting.

"He's a very quick learner, he wants to learn and he's also willing to ask questions. He's really impressed me in the short term I've been captain and also when I've played alongside him as a player."

India pace bowler Ishant Sharma is ruled out for the hosts because of an ankle injury, so RP Singh is expected to take his place in the side.

Ishant aggravated the problem during the 2-0 Test series win over Australia, in which he took 15 wickets to win the man-of-the-series award, and has been advised to rest for five days.

England flew north to Rajkot on Wednesday, no doubt keen to forget the 124-run thrashing they suffered against an inexperienced Mumbai XI on Tuesday.

"No-one likes getting beat," coach Peter Moores told BBC Sport. "It has to be taken as a wake-up call. Physically and effort-wise, everyone's working very hard, but mentally maybe we didn't put ourselves in the right place.

"We've got to do that before Friday. Let's hope we've learned our lesson and we can produce."

Pietersen added: "Maybe there was an assumption that somebody would get a partnership and we'd go on and do it and it didn't happen. The lesson there is that we should take nothing for granted."

England will be relieved to have Broad, who is ranked the world's fifth best bowler in one-day internationals, available, especially after Sidebottom was ruled out.

"Ryan's a chance for the second ODI but we are conscious of not releasing him into competitive cricket too early," Moores added.

India are on a high after beating Australia 2-0 in a recent Test series, but their one-day squad includes eight players who did not play against Ricky Ponting's men.

Star batsman Sachin Tendulkar has been rested for the first three matches after his recent performances against Australia, and Moores said: "For us, it's a bit of a bonus, but they've got a lot of good depth of talent."

England lost 5-1 on their last visit to India in 2006 but Moores said: "The boys are very excited about taking on India.

"They got heavily beaten last time here and want to show how much they've matured as a team.
"Indian cricket is on the up. That will make it tough but also quite exciting. We haven't played a massive amount of competitive cricket over the last seven weeks, so we've got to get ourselves mentally ready to play."

A punishing schedule for England takes in seven one-dayers, each at a different venue.
"I think we are ready and up for the challenge," said Moores. "We are looking to get off to a good start, put some pressure on India and build some confidence."

India captain Mahendra Dhoni said his side would be ready for the demands of one-day cricket, despite only having three days of rest after their Test series against Australia.

"It doesn't matter if there's no gap between series, you have to be able to switch from a Test series to a one-day series and back again," he said.

"One of the good things about the India squad is that half this squad doesn't play in the Tests so they are still fresh."

Only five players from the final Test in Nagpur are likely to play - Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and Murali Vijay.

As well as Tendulkar, fellow veterans Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman have all been left out of the squad as India look to build towards the 2011 World Cup.
Promising batsmen Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina are all hoping to make their mark while all-rounder Yusuf Pathan and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha are also highly rated after strong displays in the India Premier League.

India are unbeaten in home one-day series against England since 1984-5, and won the last series 5-1 in 2006, but England beat them in England in 2007.

England team: Kevin Pietersen (capt), Ian Bell, Matt Prior, Ravi Bopara, Owais Shah, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Samit Patel, Stuart Broad, Steve Harmison, James Anderson.