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England seek ODI redemption over India

Fresh off their 0-4 series Test series defeat, England will be out to continue their white-ball resurgence

England will be not be rolled over as easily in the limited-overs series against India as they were in the Tests - and skipper Eoin Morgan has statistics on his side to silence the doubters.

Having endured a 4-0 drubbing in the Tests under Alastair Cook before Christmas, England have regrouped under Irishman Morgan in a bid to defeat India in their own backyard and continue their impressive run in the shorter formats.

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Morgan's men play three one-day internationals, starting in Pune on Sunday, followed by three Twenty20 games on the second leg of the Indian tour which ends on February 1.

England may be fifth, two places below India, in the official ODI rankings, but with 11 wins in 17 matches last year shows a remarkable comeback after failing to qualify for the knock-out rounds of the 2015 World Cup.

Morgan's side stunned even their most ardent supporters with a world record total of 3-444 against Pakistan at Trent Bridge last August in which opener Alex Hales cracked an astonishing 171 off 122 balls with four sixes and 22 boundaries.

The tourists possess a destructive batting line-up with Jason Roy, fresh of his recent KFC Big Bash League stint with the Sydney Sixers, partnering Hales at the top of the order, followed by Joe Root, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and Morgan himself.

Jason Roy with another big bash or two

Pitches for ODIs in India are usually well rolled out and tilted in favour of batsmen, setting the stage for a riveting contest against an Indian team led by newly-anointed limited-overs captain Virat Kohli.

Morgan returns to lead England after he and Alex Hales opted out of the ODI series in Bangladesh for security reasons, a move that drew sharp criticism from several quarters back home.

Morgan said the success over the past year will give his side the confidence to do well against India, but admitted the task ahead was not easy.

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"I'd like to think that things have gone pretty well for us," he said. "We have a fantastic group of players who are very talented, very driven and they want to do well.

"Playing abroad is obviously a different challenge, a challenge which everybody is looking forward to. India is a great place to come and win the series. It means that much more because they are very, very good at home."

As many as eight players in the limited-overs squad were also part of the Test tour, but Morgan insisted the tourists were not scarred by the embarrassing 0-4 scoreline.

"I think they are very motivated individually," he said. "Since this side has come together, there has been no backlash or repercussions from any performance earlier in the tour.

"I don't expect it to have any effect."

England begin the series after playing two high-scoring practice matches against India 'A' in Mumbai, winning the first by three wickets before losing the second by six wickets.

India, meanwhile, enter a new era as Kohli assumes charge of all three formats for the first time after Mahendra Singh Dhoni stepped down as the limited-overs captain earlier this month.

Kohli, who has already made a mark as Test captain, is no novice at leading in ODIs either, having won 14 of the 17 matches at the helm when Dhoni was rested or injured.

Star spinner Ravichandran Ashwin said the only difference he could think of now that the captain had changed was how he would communicate with him on the field.

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"It will be different in terms of the interactions you'll have," said Ashwin, who returns to the ODI fold after a year's gap.

"When I played under Mahi (Dhoni), it was about communication coming through from the top of the mark to the 'keeper. But it is going to be very different now.

"Virat will be around at short mid-wicket or short cover. We have to try and get used to those communications."

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Asked how he rated Kohli as a ODI captain, Ashwin said: "He likes to attack, wants to pick wickets through the middle overs, even at the cost of some runs.

"Virat on occasions can be a little aggressive and that's the one thing that I need to try and adjust to."

"But in terms of leadership and communication, I feel Mahi is going to hold the key because he's the 'keeper and he's going to bring that invaluable experience with him.

"It's going to be very, very important that we try and take as much valuable inputs from him and try and take the team forward."

The remaining ODIs will be played in Cuttack (Jan 19) and Kolkata (Jan 22). The T20 internationals will be hosted by Kanpur (Jan 26), Nagpur (Jan 29) and Bangalore (February 1).

India squad: Virat Kohli (capt), Lokesh Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Yuvraj Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav.

England squad: Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Liam Dawson, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes.