India Opt to Bowl First in 1st T20I Against England; Shami Left Out

Kolkata : India’s captain Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and chose to bowl first in the opening T20 International against England at Eden Gardens on Wednesday. In a surprising move, senior pacer Mohammed Shami was excluded from the playing XI. Shami’s return to the Indian team had been anticipated after his recovery from an ankle injury sustained during the ODI World Cup final loss to Australia in November 2023.

Yadav described the team selection as a “good headache” and emphasized the importance of sticking to India’s strengths. “The wicket looks sticky, and there will be dew later on, making it heavier as the game progresses,” Yadav explained.

India’s squad includes Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (w), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, and Varun Chakravarthy. England’s lineup features Jos Buttler (c), Ben Duckett, Philip Salt (w), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, and Mark Wood.