Stars of India: The five men England should fear in one-day series

Mahendra Singh Dhoni
India's captain is also their most valuable player, thanks to his steely poise and remarkably flexible batting. Dhoni is equally adept at working the ball around or going ballistic with his patented windmill shot, which he developed while playing tennis ball cricket in his native state of Bihar. He has the rare ability to get under the ball, even when it is a half-volley, and launch it back over the bowler's head for a huge six.

Gautam Gambhir
The surprise package of the recent test series, Gambhir has been a rock at the top of the one-day side for some time, even eclipsing his opening partner Virender Sehwag. He is a compact left-hander who is capable of improvising some unexpected shots, including deft sweeps on both sides of the wicket. His confidence will be sky-high after his triumphant performances against Australia, and England will be in trouble if they cannot dismiss him early.

Suresh Raina
Raina was the baby-faced assassin in the Indian side the last time England toured. Even at the age of 19, he was mature enough to play some match-winning innings, including a blistering 81 not out at Faridabad. He has endured a few growing pains since then, jumping in and out of the side, but a profitable Indian Premier League campaign should have confirmed his value as a dynamic top-order aggressor.

Yuvraj Singh
Stuart Broad will not need reminding of the man who hit him for six sixes in an over in Durban during the World Twenty20 championships. Yuvraj may have failed to establish himself in the Test side, but he remains a hugely powerful left-handed strokeplayer with the capacity to win any match on his own. He is also perhaps the fastest and deadliest fielder in an Indian side that can sometimes be exposed by batsmen who run hard between the wickets.

Piyush Chawla
One-day cricket in India tends to be about batsmen rather than bowlers, such is the somnolent nature of the pitches, but a good leg-spinner can be effective as long as he is quick through the air. Chawla will probably be preferred to Amit Mishra, the hero of the Test series, because Mishra throws the ball up so high that batsmen have a chance of getting to the pitch. Chawla has a flatter trajectory as well as a deceptive googly that is likely to snare its fair share of England batsman over the next three weeks.