Former Indian wicket-keeper bat Dinesh Karthik reckons the experience of players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah will come in handy in the three-match ODI series against England. India suffered a 0-4 T20I series loss against England.

England registered a comprehensive 56-run win in the final game of the series at Rose Bowl, Southampton, on Saturday. The hosts posted a gargantuan score of 257 runs on the board, whereas India could only manage 201 runs on the board.

India was playing with a full-strength team, barring the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya.

“The big boys are back. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah will all play the ODI series. It almost feels like India currently needs a shot in the arm with some experience and match nous, and also the belief of what it takes to win bilaterals. They have missed it in the last couple in Ireland and England, and these players are going to make a huge difference,” Dinesh Karthik said on Cricbuzz.

Karthik highlighted that it would be crucial for the players to get together as a team ahead of the next ODI World Cup.

“They have a young captain in Shubman Gill, a lot of the players are in good form. We saw how they dominated against Afghanistan. For a while the ODI side has been up and down. From here on, the journey will be how good and consistent they can be in the lead-up to the World Cup. There’s plenty of skill on offer, but the key will be: do they gel together as a team?” Dinesh Karthik opined.

“Is the current support staff able to park what happened in the T20s aside and get fresh and start a journey with this ODI team with the World Cup coming in just under 15 months,” he concluded.

India and England will next take on each other in a three-match ODI series, starting Tuesday at Edgbaston, Birmingham.