The Indian team management has narrowed down on “17-18” players for the ODI World Cup at home, beginning October.

“We are clear about the team we want to play, and hopefully, we can give the guys we have zeroed in on as many opportunities as we can, at home and away,” head coach Rahul Dravid said on the eve of India’s ODI series decider against Australia in Chennai on Wednesday.

India have played 53 ODIs since the 2019 World Cup and the think-tank has had to try out several combinations because of either injuries or workload management of the players. But the focus now will be on giving those “in the mix” a long run.

“Some players are still recovering from injuries and will come back depending on the time frame of recovery. But within that pool, we want to have different combinations because it is a big tournament... whether we want four pacers or three spinners .. within the squad, we would like to look at different conditions and test different combinations so that we aren’t surprised by anything at the World Cup,” Dravid said.

India are playing only 42 ODIs in the ICC’s new Future Tours Programme (2023-2027) and has a limited number of ODIs to chalk out its plans ahead of the quadrennial showpiece event.

“We are guided by the schedule. It’s hectic as it is, and it’s hard to add games to it. Right after the IPL, around that time, it’s our monsoon season, our off-season, so we won’t get too many ODIs in our conditions, but we are clear about the squad,” he said.

Dravid also dismissed concerns about the batting. “I think the Mumbai pitch was challenging, but the last one wasn’t a 117 wicket. That said, we’ve done well as a batting unit the last year or so, especially in white-ball cricket.

“Occasionally, these things can happen. Mitchell Starc has bowled well, so credit to him. We need to find a way to get through that first spell of play and not lose too many wickets up front.”

Even Suryakumar Yadav’s first-ball ducks isn’t really worrying Dravid. “Not really concerned about Surya. He got two very good balls. One of things about Surya is that he is learning the 50-overs game. The T20 is slightly different. He has played 10 years of IPL.

“He has played a lot of T20 cricket. We need to give him some time and be patient with it,” the head coach said.

Ellis owes it to Starc

Nathan Ellis at a news conference on Tuesday. PTI photo

Chennai: Pacer Nathan Ellis, who dismissed Virat Kohli in the second ODI in Visakhapatnam, has cherished bowling in tandem with Mitchell Starc.

“Starcy has been huge for me. For me personally, he is someone I looked up to him a lot of time. He presented me my first Australia cap too. He is a big part of my Australia journey. Even the other day, speaking to him pre-game and post-game,” Ellis said.

“He (Starc) is a calming influence. He is also someone who has been there and done almost everything the game has to offer, whether it is the ups or down. It is something that I have cherished. It is invaluable,” the youngster said.

PTI