Last Updated:
Mohammed Shami was not included in India’s playing XI for the first T20I against England at the Eden Gardens.
India vs England, 1st T20I: Mohammed Shami trains at the Eden Gardens (AP)
India skipper Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and opted to field first against Jos Buttler’s England in the first T20I of the five-match series at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday.
SKY had a surprise for Indian fans as he revealed that Mohammed Shami is not included in India’s playing XI, along with the likes of Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar and Harshit Rana.
Shami was sidelined after the 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia in November 2023 due to an ankle injury that required surgery. The recovery from that was followed by a swelling on his left knee during the domestic comeback some weeks back.
The India captain said the decision to bowl first is because the wicket looks a bit sticky and dew will come into play later on. He adds that the boys joining in from Australia have a different energy and the preparations have been good and reckons that it will be good competition between the two sides.
India vs England – 1st T20I: Live Score
“We will look to bowl first. The wicket looks sticky, there will be dew later on. It will be heavier later on,” Suryakumar Yadav said after winning the toss.
“The boys have been amazing. The preparations have been good, looking forward to this series. It’s going to be great competition between both the sides. A good headache, we want to stick to our strengths,” he added.
England captain Jos Buttler said there’s a little bit of dew around so they would have bowled as well and informed that Saqib Mahmood, Brydon Carse, Rehan Ahmed and Jamie Smith are the guys missing out.
“Looks a good wicket, sure going to be a good match. There will be some dew around. It’s a great ground, it’s an honour to play against India in these conditions. Everyone is in a good spot. It’s nice to be together, looks to look forward to. McCullum taking charge, he has a lot of experience. It’s going to be a challenge, we are up for it. There is some incredible talent in both sides,” Jos Buttler said at the toss.
IND vs ENG – Playing XI:
India: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson(w), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy
England: Ben Duckett, Philip Salt(w), Jos Buttler(c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
