Rohit Sharma’s India eye success in Dubai’s comfort zone

The last time India played a Champions Trophy match they were defeated by their archrivals Pakistan in a rather onesided final at The Oval in London in 2017 That defeat still rankles Indian fans Thereafter India narrowly missed out on the 50over World Cup crown around a year and a half ago when they lost in the final to Australia in front of a record crowd at Ahmedabad Of course after that India did go on to win the T20 World Cup with aplomb in the Caribbean but in 50over ICC tournaments they have fallen short a few times Indian fans now hope that in the upcoming mini version of a 50over World Cup the Men in Blue will compensate for those setbacks and bring joy to the faces of millions of followers by winning the Champions Trophy set to begin in Pakistan and the UAE on WednesdayImperative to begin with a bangThe Champions Trophy is not as arduous as the World Cup with only eight teams in the fray divided into two groups Only 15 games are scheduled mdash four in Dubai and 10 in Pakistan mdash with the final set to be played either in Lahore or Dubai depending on whether or not India make it to the title clash A team will enter the semifinals after playing just three league games Thus this compact version gives little leeway for teams to make a comeback after a poor start Itrsquos imperative for India to begin with a bangIndia may be without main strike bowler Jasprit Bumrah and the form of skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli under a scanner yet they will have to get off the blocks with a win in their opening game against Bangladesh on Thursday Then after the allimportant clash with Pakistan on February 23 India will know exactly what they need to do to advance to the semifinals when they face New Zealand on March 2 Their semifinal clash will be in Dubai on March 4 against an opponent who would have played all their matches in Pakistan Thus India will have an advantage having played all their games at the Dubai International StadiumAs has been the trend in recent times India have refrained from playing warmup games before their campaign They have preferred highoctane practice sessions at the ICC Academy ground close to the main stadium whereas Bangladesh played a warmup match against Pakistan Shaheens here on Monday How much of a difference that is going to make is difficult to tell The good thing is that the Indian players are well acclimatised to the conditions in Dubai as they have regularly played tournaments here including the Asia Cup the T20 World Cup and the IPL in the UAEWhat bothers them is the absence of Bumrah and fitness issues surrounding Rishabh Pant who was reportedly hurt on his dodgy knee during practice on Sunday and Mohammed Shami who donned a knee cap while going through his drills at the ICC Academy on Monday As luck would have it KL Rahul is the preferred wicketkeeper while Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana along with allrounder Hardik Panyda form the pace bowling trio With spin bowling allrounders Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel along with Kuldeep Yadav the team has enough arsenal to cover any minor fitness concerns regarding Pant and Shami Batters back in formThe advantage for India is that well before the tournament they are sure of their playing XI for the opening game barring any last minute injuries They have arrived here after clean sweeping England in a threematch ODI series which has set their house in order the biggest being the return to form of Rohit and Virat Rahul has also found his batting form which has put a stamp on him being the No 1 wicketkeeper Other players including Hardik Rana Shreyas Iyer Kuldeep and Axar also had strong outings But the player to come out of the series with flying colours was vicecaptain Shubhman Gill All this augurs well for the Men in Blue as they attempt to regain the Champions Trophy a title they last won in 2013 under MS DhoniMohd Yousuf feels Pakistan will have edge over IndiaAs Pakistan prepare to host its first ICC event in 29 years the legendary batter Mohammad Yousuf has expressed his excitement and confidence in the national teamrsquos ability to perform well on home soil India will be playing their matches in DubaiIndia are seen as a formidable opponent but Yousuf believes Pakistan have the advantage of playing on home turf ldquoIndia have a balanced side Pakistan have the edge because they are playing in home conditions But they have to play calculated cricket in the tournamentrdquo2013The year India last won the Champions Trophy MS Dhonirsquos men beat England by five runs in final at Birmingham