IND vs ENG, 1st T20I: Toss-up between Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh; India's likely Playing XI here
When India's squad for the T20I series against England was announced a week ago, it had an almost similar squad that travelled to South Africa, where Suryakumar Yadav and the boys clinched the four-match series 3-1.
FollowAfter two months of the Test series against Australia, Team India will change the white jersey and blue jersey as they gear up for the white-ball series against England. The series will begin with the T20I leg before moving on to play ODI cricket. The first match of the five-match series between India and England is scheduled to take place at the Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata on January 22.
The T20 has been the most dominant format for Team India over the last couple of years, winning 37 matches and losing 9 in 49 matches. Since the T20 World Cup 2024 triumph, The Men in Blue have maintained continuity in their dominance as they lost two matches in 15 T20Is played. Even after Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja retired from the shortest format of the game, the team has witnessed a seamless transition.
When India's squad for the T20I series against England was announced a week ago, it had an almost similar squad that travelled to South Africa, where Suryakumar Yadav and the boys clinched the four-match series 3-1. The players that failed to retain their places in the squad are Ramandeep Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Avesh Khan and Yash Dayal. From the 16-member squad picked by the BCCI selectors, who are likely to make it to the playing XI for the first T20I.
Wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma are expected to open the innings for the Men in Blue against England. The duo have paired in five matches, beginning with the first T20I of the three-match series against Bangladesh in October. Samson has been in an incredible form in T20Is, scoring two consecutive centuries, while Abhishek displayed his brilliant performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last year, scoring 255 runs, including a century and fifty, at an average of 42.50 in seven matches.
In-form Tilak Verma is likely to bat at no.3. The left-handed batter has been making rapid strides in the shortest format of the game, with two centuries on the trot at international level. He played for Hyderabad in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last year, amassing 327 runs, including a century and two centuries, at an average of 65.40 in seven matches. At No.4, Suryakumar Yadav is expected to occupy that spot. The Indian skipper is the best batter in the current squad, having scored over 2500 runs and registered four centuries. Rinku Singh is likely to walk out to bat at no.5 as he has proven his reliable middle-order batter, demonstrating his power-hitting ability.
Hardik Pandya will make it to the XI and play at his usual position no.6. Washington Sundar is likely to lose his place to Nitish Kumar Reddy, who was a great find for India in the Test series against Australia. Reddy made his T20I debut against Bangladesh last year. He slammed 74 off 34 balls in the second T20I against Bangladesh. Since Axar Patel is the vice-captain, he is likely to play at No.8 batting position. The opening match of the series is set to witness the return of Mohammed Shami to international cricket after a year. When it comes to picking a specialist spinner, it would be difficult for team management to leave out Varun Chakravarthy and bring in Ravi Bishnoi.
The toss up will be between Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh. Rana didn’t have an ideal Test tour of Australia as he picked just four wickets in two matches before getting dropped from the remaining three Tests. Arshdeep Singh, on the other hand, performed well in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, emerging as the highest wicket-taker with 20 wickets for Punjab. The head coach Gautam Gambhir would’ve preferred Rana, but given Arshdeep Singh’s enough match practice with the white-ball and the recent performances in SMAT, he is likely to get a nod for the T20I series opener against England.
India’s likely playing XI for 1st T20I vs England
Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel (vc), Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy and Arshdeep Singh
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