India are preparing to take on England in the first T20I of a highly anticipated five-match, starting on Wednesday. The first T20I will be held at Eden Gardens. India will be led by Suryakumar Yadav, while Buttler will be captaining England. The clash between these two powerhouses is going to be incredibly exciting, with plenty of narratives to follow both on and off the field.
For India, the spotlight is firmly on the return of their pace spearhead, Mohammed Shami. This marks Shami’s first International appearance since the ODI World Cup 2023. Shami had been on the sidelines due to an ankle injury, but intense rehabilitation has put him back into action.
Being the senior bowler, Shami’s presence will bolster India’s bowling attack, which will look to trouble England’s aggressive batting lineup. Apart from Shami, India will have the services of bowlers like Axar Patel and Arshdeep Singh.
On the other side, this series represents a new chapter for England under head coach Brendon McCullum. Although McCullum has been at the helm of England’s Test side with great success, this will be his first white-ball assignment since taking over as head coach.
England will aim to continue their dominance in white-ball cricket under McCullum’s guidance. They will have a formidable batting line-up with Jos Buttler, Phil Salt, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, and Liam Livingstone featuring in the side. While, their bowling unit will boast the likes of Gus Atkinson, Rehan Ahmed, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, and Mark Wood.
Head-to-head T20Is
Matches played: 24,
India won: 13,
England won:11
India probable XI: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma,Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel/Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Varun Chakravarthy
England probable XI: Jos Buttler (c&wk), Phil Salt, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson, Rehan Ahmed, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood