Saba Karim announced India’s lineup for the first T20I against England on Wednesday, July 1, at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street. After facing Ireland in a couple of T20Is this month, India will embark on a five-match T20I series against England.
Karim shared the team selection through Star Sports’ ‘X’ handle, notably choosing to leave Vaibhav Sooryavanshi out, despite the 15-year-old’s impressive IPL season. He opted for the experienced pair of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson to open the batting, with Ishan Kishan at No. 3.
For the middle order, Karim selected the new captain Shreyas Iyer, his deputy Tilak Varma, and veteran all-rounder Shivam Dube. Axar Patel, the former vice-captain, rounded out the top seven as the only spin-bowling all-rounder.
In terms of bowling, Karim picked Harshit Rana, who is back fit, along with India’s leading T20I wicket-taker Arshdeep Singh and Prasidh Krishna as the main pacers. Varun Chakaravarthy also made the squad as the only specialist spinner.
Saba Karim’s Team India playing XI for 1st T20I against England: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (C), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh.
Besides Sooryavanshi, Prince Yadav, Suryansh Shedge, and Ravi Bishnoi were not included in Karim’s selection. Yadav recently made his International debut in the series against Afghanistan, while Shedge joined the team last minute after Nitish Kumar Reddy was ruled out due to injury.
Under new captain Shreyas Iyer, India is looking to build on their success as the first team to defend the T20 World Cup title earlier this year. The talent pool in Indian Cricket, particularly in the T20 format, is deep. The upcoming series against Ireland and England will provide a chance to evaluate the performance of the younger players.