India are set to clash with England in the first T20I match of the five-game bilateral series starting on Wednesday, 22 January 2025 at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata. (Streaming | More Cricket News)
The Jos Buttler-led England will also play a three-match ODI series after that which is going to be the only ODI game played by India before they participate in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
ওEngland have started their practice sessions in Kolkata and will be keen to start the series with a win against the Suryakumar Yadav-led India side on Wednesday. The T20 World Champions won all of their bilateral T20I series last year.
Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell and Jamie Smith are some young players who have done well for some time for the English side. Tilak Varma, Dhruv Jurel and Harshit Rana ౠare Indian guns who are ready to fire in Eden Gardens.
India vs England - T20I Squads
India:𒈔 Suryakumar Yadav (c), Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel (vc), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel (wk).
England:🌃 Jos Buttler (c), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Jamie Smith, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood, Phil Salt, Mark Wood
🎀As a young Indian side will clash with an experienced England team, let's take a look at the key player battles that are worth watching out from the match
1. Tilak Varma vs Mark Wood
🔯Tilak Varma is a left-hand batter who has secured his one-down place in the batting order after hitting back-to-back T20I centuries against South Africa. He has the full support of his captain Suryakumar Yadav, who also plays with him in the Mumbai Indians franchise in the IPL. His aggressive style of batting is well known but how he will react against one of the fastest bowlers in the world cricket, Mark Wood, will be an exciting thing to watch. Wood can trouble him with his sheer pace.
2. Varun Chakaravarthy vs Phil Salt
꧙Phil Salt is well known for his attacking style of opening batting. He can change the game single-handedly with his power-hitting. Varun Chakaravarthy, a mystery-spinner who shared the dressing room with Salt in the IPL for Kolkata Knight Riders last year, could possess some threat to the opener batter. He is confident to bowl in the power-play and will be coming up with some plans for the attacking English opener.
3. Sanju Samson vs Jofra Archer
✱Sanju Samson has confirmed his place as an opener in the T20I side after hitting back-to-back hundreds in his last series. He likes to take his time and then play the shots all around the park. Jofra Archer, who is coming after recovering from an injury, will be on his target. Archer comes to bowl in the powerplay and death overs. He will try to threaten him with his deadly bouncers but Samson loves to play pull shots. His beautiful batting style will be a treat to watch against a world-class bowler like Jofra Archer.
