IND vs ENG: Predicted India playing XI for the first T20I

After losing the series 0-2 against Ireland, the Indian team has arrived in England to play a five-match T20I series. The first T20I is scheduled for July 1 at Chester-le-Street. While the Ireland series was initially expected to serve as practice for the Indian players, the Irish team stunned the cricketing world by defeating the two-time reigning T20 World Cup champions. Nevertheless, Team India will look to put that defeat behind them and stage a comeback in this series. It will be fascinating to see how Team India bounces back. Although critics have been vocal following the loss to Ireland, no team would want to make the mistake of underestimating the Indian squad.

All eyes will also be on Team India's playing XI for the first T20I. There have been calls to include Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the playing XI, especially after Sanju Samson failed to perform in two consecutive matches. Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer have also remained quiet so far. While Abhishek Sharma played an explosive knock of 49 runs in the first match, he needs to learn to adapt his game to the match situation; similarly, Tilak Varma must learn to finish matches effectively in his new role. Questions are also being raised about the team's bowling and fielding. This could be a do-or-die series for Team India; a loss here could lead to major changes within the squad.

For now, it appears there could be one or two changes to Team India's lineup. Reports indicate that Ishan Kishan performed the wicket-keeping duties in the second T20I; this clearly suggests that the team might consider including Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in place of Sanju Samson. While Sanju failed to perform in both matches against Ireland, Vaibhav's recent form is consistently pressuring the management to include him in the playing XI. Sanju Samson might get a chance in the opening India vs England T20I match, but if he fails to deliver again, Vaibhav could replace him in the playing XI. One of Washington Sundar or Ravi Bishnoi could be included in the playing XI, replacing Suryansh Shedge. Apart from these, the rest of the team is likely to remain unchanged.

Shreyas Iyer, India’s new T20I captain, began his full-time captaincy tenure with a series loss; consequently, he faces pressure to perform well in this series—not just as a batsman, but also as a leader. Naturally, he would want to avoid starting another series with a defeat. India is likely to field its best India playing XI, but it will be interesting to see which players get the nod and who gets dropped.

Predicted India playing XI

Sanju Samson/Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Iyer ©, Axar Patel, Tilak Varma (vc), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Prince Yadav, Arshdeep Singh