‘We’ll test them’: Ben Duckett warns Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli ahead of ODI series

India’s Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli (PTI Photo) New Delhi: Opener Ben Duckett believes England will not hesitate to test India’s senior batsmen with the short ball if they feel it is the right tactic, even as the visitors know the challenge will be very different to the one they faced during their 4-0 T20I thrashing.A flurry of bouncers in England unsettled India’s young batting line-up in the T20Is, with Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Ishan Kishan being repeated targets. Asked if the same ploy could be used against returning ODI stalwarts Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli, Duckett suggested England remain flexible rather than abandon the idea altogether.“We’ll try them. If they’re pretty good at it (playing the short ball), we probably won’t use that strategy as much. But I’ll be honest, I’m not sure we could continue with it if we find it works,” Duckett said when asked by TOI during an interaction on the eve of the opening ODI. “Obviously our plans as a bowling group will have Brookie’s (Harry Brook) leadership as a rallying point.Apart from India’s experienced ODI batting line-up, Duckett knows England’s batsmen will have to be at their best when they face Jasprit Bumrah. The left-hander, who has only faced the Indian copy in Test cricket, admitted that the demands of the 50-over format make the competition a completely different proposition.“There are not many weaknesses in Bumrah,” Duckett said. “It (hitting Bumrah) depends on if the ball swings or if the ball doesn’t swing that much. Obviously he can swing the ball both ways close to 90 miles an hour, so hopefully it’s blue skies, no clouds and not that much swing. That would be very helpful.”“He’s exactly the type of bowler that I imagine India will use during the innings to try and get wickets at any time and we’ll have to try and fight that. I’ve only come across him in Test cricket where you end up not having to look to score very quickly. There’s no pressure to score, whereas in 50-over cricket I think you still can’t survive him to find him enough and each individual will have different plans with him.” Duckett added.Despite England’s emphatic T20I success, Duckett was quick to point out that the ODI series will be a completely different test.“Obviously it’s a different Indian side than the T20Is. They’ve brought in quite a few strong players so we know it’s going to be a really tough challenge. But a lot of our guys are playing well so we fancy our chances,” Duckett said.However, the return of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli would not change England’s approach, the England opener added. “Both (Virat and Rohit) are incredible players, but I don’t think we have to change the dynamic of our team much. We have to stick to what we are doing and try to do it better than them. At the end of the day, we won’t be afraid of anyone when we go out there.”(This interaction was facilitated by Sony Sports)