No Mohammed Shami As Suryakumar Yadav Elects To Bowl Vs England In 1st T20I

Surya and Buttler will lead their teams [Source: @TheBarmyArmy/X.Com]

The wait is over as India is set to take on England in a 5-match T20I series, starting from Wednesday, January 22 at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The first game of the series is expected to be a riveting contest as both the sides are batting heavy and the Eden Gardens surface is set to provide run-feast for the fans.

India, under the leadership of Suryakumar Yadav have been flying high as the team recently thrashed South Africa in the T20Is. The Men in Blue only lost two T20Is in 2024 and will be eager to continue the good work.

On the other hand, England have made quite a few changes to their T20I side and have also brought in Brendon McCullum as their new white-ball coach. The team looks strong on paper and is filled in with plethora of batting superstars and plenty of fireworks is expected of them in the first T20I.

India Vs England: Toss updates

India won the toss and Suryakumar Yadav had no hesitation in electing to bowl first on a track which will get better as the game progresses.

The Indian side haven't made too many changes in the playing XI from the last T20I series Vs South Africa, but the decision to leave out Mohammed Shami has raised quite a few eyebrows.

There was a little bit of grass on the surface and Shami was match-fit ahead of the game, and yet, the skipper decided to go ahead with just Arshdeep Singh as the front-line pacer.

India Vs England: Playing XIs

India Playing XI: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi

England Playing XI: Ben Duckett, Philip Salt (wk), Jos Buttler (c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

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