Soon after the 0-2 drubbing they faced at the hands of minnows Ireland last week, India travel west to meet England in a T20I at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street on Wednesday, July 1. This will be followed by four more T20Is, as well as three ODIs, in which stalwarts such as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma (both ex-India captains) will feature. In the T20I series, however, India have the same squad that played against Ireland.
The incumbent, Suryakumar Yadav, was dropped from the squad before the series, and head coach Gautam Gambhir was given Shreyas Iyer as captain. Iyer, who skippers the Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League, was appointed ostensibly on the basis of his showings in the IPL. The immediate result, however, was tragic, as the Gambhir-Iyer duo tasted a series defeat at the hands of lowly-ranked Ireland. A single defeat would have been painful enough, but India went on to get whitewashed, severely diminishing their tag of being defending world champions.
England, on the other hand, are not taking India lightly, and have named one of their most experienced squads. To be led by Harry Brook (who is currently in Nottingham playing a Test against New Zealand), England have selected their best players to take on India in this series. One of the players to watch out for will be the young Tom Banton, who will complement the experienced Jos Buttler well in the batting order. All-rounders Will Jacks and Sam Curran will also add depth to the squad and give Brook various options when things are not going well in the middle.
Predicted Teams
IND: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh.
ENG: Phil Salt, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler (wk), Tom Banton, Harry Brook (c), Will Jacks, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood, Jofra Archer.
Key Players
Washington Sundar (IND): Washington Sundar plays a nuanced role in this Indian setup. The all-rounder is expected to walk out to bat in the lower middle-order and then contribute with the ball in hand inside the power play. While his off-breaks have their value in the middle overs, Sundar has shown in franchise cricket over the years that he is not afraid of the ball slipping out of his hands when it is new. If he bowls inside the power play, Sundar has the chance of preventing runs from leaking. He can get the ball to turn away from left-handers, and can stop, say Jacob Bethell, from playing his strokes with complete freedom.
Harry Brook (ENG): The England captain is one of the best batters in his generation. Brook has shown, over the years, that he can tuck into any bowling attack without caring for reputations at all. And this Indian bowling unit appears particularly dishevelled in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah. Although spinners Axar Patel and Sundar will be critical to India's chances, Brook is known to be a good player of slow bowling. What's important to note here is the fact that Brook can rotate the strike well and is not a one-trick pony reliant solely on hitting the ball a long way. This balance makes him stand apart from his competitors.
Match Prediction
England are expected to win. Compared to the squad that they have named, India appear rather inexperienced. The visiting side's strengths lie in their top-order, with the likes of Ishan Kishan, Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson tipped to do well. However, their bowling unit appears quite out of its depth, with no senior players at all. The likes of Axar Patel and Arshdeep Singh will have to step up in Jasprit Bumrah's absence. England, meanwhile, seem to have ticked all the boxes, and are the favourites to win and take a lead in the series.