As India gear up for a much-anticipated three-match ODI series against England, former English bowler Stuart Broad has put his weight behind the Men in Blue to perform well with stars like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah returning to the field. The former speedster called Kohli Indiaโs โheroโ around whom โeveryone else seemingly performs betterโ.
Broad has expressed his confidence in India’s ability to bounce back from the recent T20I drubbing in the ODI series, stating the return of senior players Kohli, Rohit, and Bumrah will pose a โdifferent challengeโ for the Three Lions. So far, Team India has struggled on their tour of Ireland and England, losing all six of the completed T20Is and seeing one game get washed out due to rain.ย The Men in Blue were beaten by Ireland 0-2, before they turned to the English shores and were hammered 0-4 in the five-match T20I series.
While the T20Is have been nothing short of a shock, the ODIs offer hope to the Men in Blue to bounce back and bag wins on their UK tours with experienced players returning to provide the much-needed stability.ย
Speaking on the โFor the Love of Cricketโ YouTube channel, Broad spoke on the Indian team and the return of Kohli back to the field. โYou bring the intensity of Virat Kohli into the squad and it lifts everything. Everyone else seemingly performs better because you’ve got a hero of Indian cricket in Kohli. And Rohit and Bumrah have similar impacts. So it’ll be a different challenge for England in the ODIs,โ Broad said on the show.
Hope he wasn’t left out because he had a bad IPL, says Broad
Further in the video, Broad questioned the reason for Jasprit Bumrahโs absence in the squad for the T20I series against England. The pacer had played an instrumental role in leading the Indian team to the T20 World Cup 2026 victory. But the IPL 2026 turned out to be one of his worst seasons as he took only four wickets in 13 matches for Mumbai Indians. Referring to his performance in the IPL, Broad wondered if that was the reason for not playing the bowler in the two T20I series. โI hope he (Bumrah) wasn’t left out for the T20Is against England because he had a really bad IPL with only four wickets. You would like to think he wasn’t dropped and it was only a rest,” said Broad.
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