While their red-ball form has been iffy in recent months, there’s no questioning India’s white-ball form, especially given they are the defending T20 World Cup champions.
The Men in Blue now host England as part of a lengthy white-ball tour ahead of an important white-ball season. The action kicks off with the T20I series, and here are our preview and predictions for the first game.
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After winning the T20 World Cup last year, India officially got its transition period in the format with the retirement of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja, and the management started building a squad for the future, with Suryakumar Yadav taking over the reins from Sharma as captain.
Yadav is leading a relatively-young squad for this T20I series, with the explosive and talented Abhishek Sharma at the top of the order with the veteran Sanju Samson. Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, and Nitish Kumar Reddy make up a long batting lineup, with Pandya and Reddy as seam all-rounders. India also have a strong spin unit featuring Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, and Axar Patel, with Sundar and Patel also being more than handy with the bat.
Mohammed Shami returns to the national setup as well after a long period out due to a knee injury. He will lead the pace attack, with Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana rounding out the seam options.
The visitors, on the other hand, have Jos Buttler leading them. Like his counterpart, Buttler has a young squad at his disposal. England’s batting lineup is led by Buttler and his explosive and dynamic partner Phil Salt, with Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell, and Liam Livingstone being the core of the batting unit. The 2022 T20 World Cup champions have a host of all-rounders as well, with Bethell, Brydon Carse, Livingstone, Jamie Overton, and Rehan Ahmed all able to roll over their arm and chip in with runs.
Jofra Archer leads the English pace attack with Mark Wood and Gus Atkinson, while Carse and Overton are handy second acts. The experienced Adil Rashid alongside the young Rehan Ahmed will also play a key role, especially given India’s recent struggles against spin.
The first T20I will be taking place at the iconic Eden Gardens, known for its high-scoring games in the recent past. While the strip will have something for the seamers early on, expect a lot of runs. We back the hosts to start as favourites in a series which should be neck-and-neck throughout.
Fantasy XI: Abhishek Sharma, Phil Salt, Jos Buttler, Suryakumar Yadav, Harry Brook, Tilak Vama, Liam Livingstone, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer
Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Winners Prediction: India
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