England appoints Indian sidearm specialist ahead of 2023 World Cup

The World Cup is just a few hours left. All the teams have already geared up for the marquee event. Ahead of the World Cup, the defending champions England are looking for a formidable side to win the World Cup again. They have assigned an Indian sidearm specialist to help them prepare to face left-arm fast bowling in the World Cup. It was introduced to professional games over the last decade and is used extensively by coaches in England’s training sessions.

England will employ Saurabh Ambatkar, who played age-group cricket for Mumbai and Vidarbha, throughout the 2023 ODI World Cup. He joined the squad in Guwahati the previous week and will travel with the defending champions throughout the tournament. The three Lions coaching staff comprises head coach Matthew Mott and his assistants Marcus Trescothick (batting), Carl Hopkinson (fielding), Richard Dawson (spin bowling), and David Saker (seam bowling).

Previously he was with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in recent seasons, as well as for Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in UAE’s ILT20. He has worked with England team manager Wayne Bentley, who has the same role at KKR. The English cricketers lost 20 wickets to left-arm seamers at the World Cup 2019. In a match against Australia, they lost nine wickets to Jason Behrendoff and Mitchell Starc. In the previous month when New Zealand was playing England, Trent Boult took eight wickets in two appearances against them.

England looking to defend the World Cup

Along with Ambatkar, England has also appointed a local massage therapist for the CWC. Mahesh Aarya will join their medical team, supporting Mark Saxby, physio Craig de Weymarn, strength and conditioning coach Andy Mitchell, and team doctor Rob Young. England will travel from Guwahati to Ahmedabad on Tuesday afternoon and will train on Wednesday night before the tournament starts on Thursday.

England is a side that is unpredictable in the World Cup. Jos Buttler is a proven skipper in the T20 format as he won the T20 World Cup in 2022.