Jos Buttler’s new-era England await the Indian test

The summer of 2022 has a different tinge to it in English cricket. It started with Morgan-ball, then took momentum via Baz-ball and ultimately now lands itself as Buttler-ball. Jos Buttler has officially taken over the building as the new white-ball skipper after Eoin Morgan’s retirement.

But up against Buttler is a T20I force in the form of Rohit Sharma’s India. India were on a rampant streak in the shortest format, winning 12 games in a row before South Africa tore them apart in their own den. Since then, India have put on a resounding show against Ireland but England are a different beast altogether. 

Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, and Ravindra Jadeja are all rested for the first T20I, which would provide the opportunity for the likes of Hooda and Samson to continue their hot streak form. And for England, the absence of Morgan frees up one spot in the middle-order and who takes that will be a question that could drive England’s future. 

Deepak Hooda’s opportunity to shine

The first T20I really is Deepak Hooda’s prime opportunity of continuing his staggering form. With the likes of Kohli and Iyer returning to the squad for the second and third T20Is, Hooda will once again have to settle for a place on the Indian bench. So, at the Ageas Bowl, the all-rounder will have another run at conjuring up a big score for himself.

Hooda has been in sublime form with the bat, with scores of 59, 104, 47*, 45 and 59 in his last five T20s. The 27-year-old offers India flexibility, both with the bat and the ball. With no specialist off-spinner in the lineup, and with England possessing explosive left-handers in their setup, Hooda could be effective at the Ageas bowl.

With the bat as well, Hooda’s ability to bat anywhere in the top-order, middle-order or lower middle-order could well provide India with flexibility. So, this would be another opportunity for the all-rounder to strengthen his claim for the T20 World Cup. 

Can Harry Brook grab the vacant Morgan spot?

Interestingly, Harry Brook has just made the one T20I appearance thus far for the Three Lions, where he scored a 13-ball 10. The Yorkshire lad has scored 448 and is amongst the top ten run-scorers in the Vitality Blast but more importantly, strikes at 165.64. In addition to that, Brook is also the second-highest scorer for batters in the middle-order (4-7) during this year's Blast. That is essentially what has made him a front-runner for taking the Morgan position. 

Morgan’s retirement really has opened the door for the 23-year-old to be in the list for featuring in England’s middle-order. And, Brook fits the bill perfectly to England’s white-ball methodology. However, he will have to compete with Phil Salt, who in England’s previous T20I, batted in that vacant position. 

On a good batting surface, Brook will be itching to make the fullest use of the opportunity. And given that he is just 23, he might well be the future for England’s long list of explosive cricketers.

The biggest audition for Matt Parkinson

Despite making his debut in 2019, Matt Parkinson really hasn’t stamped his authority on English cricket. Neither has he done it in the ODIs nor has he in the T20Is which makes this series very important for the leg-spinners, before the big deal in Australia. At one point before his debut, Parkinson was the most prolific white-ball spinner in the county cricket, with just Adil Rashid ahead of him. Now with no Rashid in the squad, it presents the leg-spinner with the right opportunity. 

In his debut series against New Zealand, Parkinson picked up five wickets, averaging just 12.2 with the ball, which was impressive. But equally, in his last series as a second spinner against Pakistan, the leg-spinner averaged 72. In Rashid’s absence, all focus would be on Parkinson to find his lost form. 

To add to that, Parkinson has gone wicketless in two out of his last four T20 appearances, picking up just two wickets in total. With all of these contexts, it is certainly the biggest audition for Parkinson. 

Match-up battle:

England’s bowling unit is perhaps the most interesting one in world cricket at the moment. Four out of their five pace bowling options in the squad are left-arm seamers. In all probability, England will start the first T20I with three left-arm seamers and just one right-arm pacer, in the form of Chris Jordan. 

Since the start of 2021, the Indian batters have struggled against left-arm pacers. Rohit has been dismissed four times, Hardik and Suryakumar thrice. While Kishan has been dismissed just twice, his strike rate is just at 113.4, showing weakness. A lot of the match’s result could be on how the Indian batters neutralise the left-arm threat from England. 

Team News and Probable XIs

With Rohit Sharma back, India are largely going to play their tried-and-tested with Rohit and Kishan at the top of the order. With no Jadeja, Axar is set to continue in the playing XI. 

India – Rohit Sharma (Captain), Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal

On the back of Eoin Morgan’s retirement, England could very well feature Yorkshire’s Harry Brook, who could get an extended run this time around. In Rashid’s absence, Parkinson could feature as the first-choice spinner. 

England – Jason Roy, Jos Buttler (Captain & wk), Dawid Malan, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Harry Brook/Phil Salt, Sam Curran, David Willey, Chris Jordan, Matt Parkinson, Tymal Mills