Follow UsMohammed Shami’s wait to return to international cricket continues as the pacer has been left out of India’s starting XI in the first T20I against England at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
Shami’s return from injury was the biggest talking point ahead of the first T20I, considering he had also been named in team India’s Champions Trophy squad. This series was supposed to serve as a measure of the 34-year-old’s fitness heading into the mega event.
But even as he warmed up in full tilt before the game, with both his knees strapped, Shami did not make it to the XI as India opted to bowl first.
The other three players who miss out for India are Harshit Rana, Dhruv Jurel and Washington Sundar.
The hosts have opted to go in with just one specialist seamer, Arshdeep Singh, with Hardik Pandya and Nitish Kumar Reddy set as the second and third seamers, respectively.
England already announced their playing XI on January 21 (Tuesday), and opted to include four tearaway quicks in Mark Wood, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer and Jamie Overton.
India: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy
England: Ben Duckett, Phil Salt (wk), Jos Buttler (c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
Suryakumar Yadav: The wicket looks sticky, there will be dew later on. It will be heavier later on. The boys have been amazing. The preparations have been good, looking forward to this series. It's going to be great competition between both sides.
Jos Buttler: Looks a good wicket, I'm sure it's 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, a lot to look forward to. McCullum taking charge, he has a lot of experience. It's going to be a challenge, we are right up for it. There is some incredible talent on both sides.
The first T20I between India and England will be shown on Star Sports 1 (English), Star Sports 1 Hindi, and Hotstar (digital).