Opener Ben Duckett says he does not care if England are beaten 3-0 in their one-day series in India, as long as they win the Champions Trophy.
England have lost six of their seven matches on Brendon McCullum’s first tour as white-ball coach and are already 2-0 down going into the third and final ODI in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
They then travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy, beginning their campaign against Australia on 22 February.
“We have come here for one thing and that is to win the Champions Trophy,” said Duckett. “We still believe we can do that. It’ll be completely different conditions, all different teams we are playing against.
“If we lose 3-0 to India, I don’t care as long as we beat them in the final of the Champions Trophy. If we do that, we probably won’t look back on this if we do the business in that competition.
New Zealander McCullum, who reinvigorated England’s Test side, was given control of the white-ball teams after Matthew Mott was sacked last summer.
England, once simultaneously world champions in both limited-overs formats, are looking to rebuild after an awful period which included lacklustre performances at the 50-over World Cup in 2023 and again at the T20 version last year.
McCullum’s first assignment is among the hardest in global white-ball cricket. India – T20 world champions – first beat England 4-1 in the shortest format and, in following up with victory in the ODIs, extended an England winless run in ODI series in that country that stretches back to 1985.
Along with Australia, England will meet South Africa and Afghanistan in the group stage of the Champions Trophy, which is being held in Pakistan and Dubai.
“It’s about peaking at the right time,” said Duckett. “We have been close against this India side and we have been nowhere near our best. We will always take positives.
“We could dwell, start meetings and going at each other but the group under Baz aren’t going to do that. It’s difficult not to get the results here, but hopefully we can turn it around in Pakistan.”
Batter Tom Banton has now joined the squad in India after Jacob Bethell was ruled out of the tour and the Champions Trophy with a hamstring injury.
Banton, 26, is expected to be confirmed as Bethell’s replacement in the Champions Trophy squad in the coming days.
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