India vice-captain Rohit Sharma insists their one-day international tour will be crucial to their World Cup preparations.
The tourists face England the first of a three-match ODI series at Trent Bridge on Thursday having won the T20 campaign 2-1.
England are number one in the ODI rankings, with India second, and hit a record 481 for six in Nottingham in their victory against Australia last month.
Sharma said: “It is very important, since the World Cup is going to be played in this part of the world.
“In terms of preparation it’s very important, in terms of our combinations and what our targets are going to be .
“In the last year or so we have played some good cricket, in and out of India, this tour brings another challenge for us.”
England whitewashed Australia 5-0 last month and their record score at Trent Bridge last month has left expectations of another big knock. But Sharma insists India will remain calm even if they need to chase down a mammoth target.
“We noticed the last series played here it was high scoring games and this is where they scored 481 runs.
“I’m expecting nothing else than a high-scoring series. It’s always nice to see the score in front of you and see how you can bat.”
