SOUTHAMPTON, Sept 5 (PTI): India may have lost two more key players in Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma due to injuries but England batsman Ian Bell feels the visitor still pose a threat to them in the second one dayer here tomorrow.
Tendulkar was today ruled out of the five-match series due to a recurrent toe injury while Sharma broke his index finger during the first ODI.
�Whether, it�s a young side or experienced, one thing we know about Indian cricketers is that they have a lot of ability and lot of talent and it should be a good game regardless of their injuries,� Bell, a magnificent batsman himself, said on the eve of the match.
�If the entire team is fit, it�s very hard to break into a fit (Indian) team, so I guess guys would be desperate to take wickets and desperate to score runs,� said Bell.
It will be Bell�s 100th one-day international match and the absence of Kevin Pietersen has allowed him to move from number six to number four position � a development the Warwickshire batsman is clearly relishing.
�I would like to bat in any one of the top four positions. There you can build your innings and go through and that probably is my strength. At number six, a majority of time you have 15 overs to go and you are looking to score boundary from the ball one.
�I am not the guy who can send a ball few rows back. I like to hit it over extra cover. I desperately want to give it a good go,� he said.
Like in one-dayers, Bell was also afforded a chance to bat at number three in Tests after Jonathan Trott was injured in the second Test at Edgbaston last month.
�When I first batted at number three for England, I wasn�t as good as I am now. I want to show Andy Flower, I can put my name there first in the team sheet.�
Bell admitted the make-up of his batting is not to slog but modern cricket is moving all the time and he needs to adapt quickly.
�I can try to slog. You have to practice, clearing your leg (for a big shot), and it�s a different cricketing shot altogether. But then Goochie has shown you could score without slogging.
�You could hit over midwicket and extra cover and I don�t have to try and become what I am not. I can play my shots and pick gaps like in Test cricket. The skills that have come in in the last 10 years are different than when we started.
�I want to improve as a cricket, add to my game. I have to learn to do it as the game is going forward all the time and you want to stay with it.�
Bell who scored a hundred against India the last time the two teams met here, said it was easier to get big scores at the top than low at the order.
�It�s easier to score 100s if I am batting up the order. I am looking forward to bat through. At number six, a quickfire 50-60 would do. There, if (Eoin) Morgan is going well, you want to give him strike as he is one of the top one-day player.�
