The 5-match T20 series between India and England will start on January 22 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. In this match, Team India's star fast bowler Mohammed Shami will return to international cricket after 14 months. Let us tell you that Shami had to undergo ankle surgery in the beginning of 2024. After this, his knees became swollen during recovery, which further delayed his return. However, in this difficult time, Shami did not give up and proved his fitness by performing brilliantly in domestic cricket.
The Indian team will also aim to heal the wounds caused by the embarrassing defeat on the Test tour of Australia. Five T20 and three ODI matches will be played between India and England, which is a golden opportunity for both the teams to evaluate themselves before the Champions Trophy to be held next month.
Shami will play after the World Cup
Despite being out of four matches in the ODI World Cup 2023, Shami was India's most successful bowler, taking 24 wickets. He took seven wickets for 57 runs in the semi-final against New Zealand at Wankhede Stadium. He has taken a total of 24 wickets in T20 cricket and would like to improve his performance in this. Shami has been out of the team due to an ankle injury since the final defeat against Australia on 19 November 2023. After this, there was swelling in his left knee.
The onus will be on Shami
Star fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah is not certain to play in the Champions Trophy due to a back injury, which will put a lot of responsibility on Shami. Shami made a comeback for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy and led him to its first win of the season by taking seven wickets. After this, he took 11 wickets in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and five wickets in Vijay Hazare Trophy. Shami has played only 23 matches in his T20 career since his debut in 2014. He last played the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final against England.
Team India would like to forget Australia's defeat
The Indian team captained by Rohit Sharma has still not been able to forget the defeat on the Australia tour, after which the BCCI has issued strict guidelines to restore discipline in the team.
All-rounder player Axar Patel has been made the vice-captain of the Indian team, who played an important role in winning the title in the T20 World Cup in West Indies last year. Akshar scored 47 runs in 31 balls in the final against South Africa and also took nine wickets in eight matches. There will be pressure on wicketkeeper Sanju Samson, who failed to make a place in India's Champions Trophy team, to perform well. He did not get a place in the Kerala team in the Ranji match against Madhya Pradesh.
Samson will have a big responsibility
Samson, who recently scored two consecutive T20 centuries against South Africa, has proved himself many times. Nitish Reddy, who scored a century in the Boxing Day Test against Australia in Melbourne in December, has also got a place in the team. He can provide another option for fast bowling along with Hardik Pandya.
England coach McCullum's test at Eden Garden
This is the beginning of the new season for the England team captained by Jos Buttler with head coach Brendon McCullum. Matthew Mott resigned after England's exit from the T20 World Cup, after which McCullum signed a three-year deal.
McCullum, who gave a new definition of aggressive game (baseball) to Test cricket, would like to repeat it in the limited overs format also. Eden Garden is not new for McCullum, who has played for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL.
Joffra Archer is also making a comeback
England will miss Reece Topley, Sam Curran and Will Jacks but 21-year-old Jacob Bethel will want to prove himself. He has scored runs at a strike rate above 167 in seven T20 matches so far.
Like Shami, England's fast bowler Joffra Archer is also making a comeback after recovering from injury. However, fast bowlers may face problems due to evening dew in India.
After this, the second T20 will be played in Chennai on 25 January, Rajkot on 28 January, Pune on 31 January and Mumbai on 2 February.
Indian squad for T20
Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Axar Patel, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Tilak Verma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakraborty, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel.
England squad for T20
Jos Buttler (captain), Harry Brook, Phil Salt, Jacob Bethel, Liam Livingstone, Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Jamie Smith, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood, Mark Wood.
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