New Delhi, Jan 21 After the debacle in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series loss in Australia, India has shifted its focus on the white-ball format including five T20Is and three ODIs against England. The iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata will host the T20I series opener on Wednesday.
The Suryakumar Yadav-led side will be bolstered with the return of pace veteran Mohammed Shami ahead of the all-important Champions Trophy, scheduled to start next month. Shami last played for India in the ODI World Cup final against Australia in November 2023. He underwent surgery for a heel injury that ruled him out of the action till November last year when he turned up for his state side Bengal in the Ranji Trophy.
On the other hand, pacer Mark Wood will make his return to the team for the first time since August. He will join Jofra Archer and Jamie Overton in England's pace-attack as the visitors announced their playing XI for the series opener on Tuesday.
India and England have faced each other 24 times in T20Is, with India holding a slight advantage with 13 wins to England's 11. However, India have won five of the last seven T20I encounters between the two teams since 2021. Their last T20I clash occurred in the semi-finals of the 2024 ICC Men's T20 Cricket World Cup, where India secured a memorable victory.
The series will begin in Kolkata and then move to Chennai, Rajkot, Pune, and Mumbai for the remaining matches. The final T20I will take place in Mumbai on February 2. Following the T20I series, the teams will compete in a three-match ODI series starting February 6, which will give fans a peek into India’s preparation for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Squads:
India: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel (vc), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel.
England: Jos Buttler (c), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Jamie Smith, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood, Phil Salt, Mark Wood.
India vs England 1st T20I all you need to know:
When: January 22, Wednesday
Where: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Time: 7 pm IST
Live streaming on: Disney+ Hotstar
Television broadcast on: Star Sports 1 (HD & SD), Star Sports 1 Hindi (HD & SD), Star Sports 1 Tamil (HD & SD), Star Sports 1 Telugu (HD & SD), Star Sports 1 Kannada (SD).
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