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Suryakumar Yadav-led India will lock horns against England in the first match of the T20I series at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday.
England has already announced that they are playing XI, while India will only reveal it at the toss.
Dew is a perennial concern at this time of the year at Eden Gardens. Since dew makes it difficult to grip the ball, fielding a third spinner could prove to be costly. It will be interesting to see what combination, India will go with in Kolkata.
The first match will mark the start of Brendon McCullum’s reign as all-format head coach for England. Ben Duckett will open the batting in his first T20I match since December 2023, with Phil Salt taking the gloves instead of Jos Buttler, who will also bat at No 3. England also have the searing pace of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood to attack India.
Phil Salt (wk), Ben Duckett, Jos Buttler (c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
It will be a homecoming for Kolkata Knight Riders star finisher Rinku Singh, who has had a quiet run recently, with scores of 8 not out, 11, 9, and 8 in his last four innings. Captain Suryakumar is hopeful that Rinku will come out all guns blazing. “I want to see him hitting sixes. He has measured all the nooks and corners of Eden Gardens, having played a lot of cricket here. It will be a good welcome for him. It’s always a good stadium with a great atmosphere,” Suryakumar said at the press conference.
Andhra all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who scored a historic maiden Test century during the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. Reddy last appeared in a T20I during the home series against Bangladesh in October last year, and he will be eager to carry his form into this series, if given the opportunity. Reddy made history as the first Indian batter to score a century in Australia while batting at number eight. His inclusion would strengthen India’s batting line-up further.
With dew set play a massive role, it is highly unlikely that India will play three spinners. Axar Patel will take the all-rounder slot at No 7, which means Washington Sundar will have to miss out. With Varun Chakravarthy in form of his life, leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi will also have to sit out.
A fit-again Mohammed Shami will spearhead the pace attack on his return to international cricket after nearly 14 months. He will be joined by left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh, providing variety. Suryakumar expressed excitement over Shami’s return. “It’s always good to have an experienced bowler in your side, and he is making a comeback after over a year. I am really excited to see him. I have seen his journey, how he focused on his bowling and recovery at the NCA. It felt good to see him (Shami) on the ground. He has bowled well too. Obviously, he has done his preparation, and he was confident from the start.”
Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy.
Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.