A five-match ODI series will kick off on Friday between England and India.  Unfortunately for the English squad, the team has struggled in limited-overs games.  However, India is coming into the match straight off a 2-1 defeat to Pakistan.  The squad were all out for 167 as their batsmen will need to perform more effectively versus the Three Lions.

Aiming to change its luck, the selectors are letting go of Virender Sehwag and will be bringing in Test phenom Cheteshwar Pujara.  While he's not expected to be featured in the first ODI, the 24-year-old is just off the back of a triple century in the Ranji Trophy.

Due to Manoj Tiwary's injury woes, Rohit Sharma will more than likely want to make a positive impact. 

Gautam Gambhir and Ajinkya Rahane are set to open alongside one another.  However, should Rahane not perform as expected, Pujara could make his debut.

On the English side, the team faltered in both of their warm-up matches, which doesn't give them the greatest of momentum going into the series. 

Nonetheless, Ian Bell still managed to score twice in those games, which is a considerable improvement from his Test series showing.  To top it off, Kevin Pieterson is now on the team fulltime after inking a brand new ECB contract.

For those who have a subscription to Sky Sports, simply log onto www.skysports.com/xtra to watch India face off against England in the 1st ODI via live stream.  Coverage of the match is set to begin at 6:30 a.m. GMT on Friday, Jan. 11.  The squads for the lineup can be viewed below.

 

India:

MS Dhoni (capt), Cheteshwar Pujara, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Ashok Dinda, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shami Ahmed, Amit Mishra

England:

Alastair Cook, Ian Bell, Tim Bresnan, Danny Briggs, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Jade Dernbach, Steve Finn, Craig Kieswetter, Stuart Meaker, Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, Kevin Pietersen, Joe Root, James Tredwell, Chris Woakes

Tags: Cricket