India vs England, 1st T20I, Predicted XI: Will dew affect team combination in Kolkata?

India vs England, 1st T20I: India are set to kick off their T20I series against England on Wednesday in Kolkata. With dew expected to fall during the second half of the match, team selection will be crucial for both teams.

In Short

• India are set to start their T20I series on January 22
• Gambhir returns to white-ball coaching after Test tour
• The match is set to start at 7 PM IST

After a long season of Test tours, both home and away, the focus once again shifts to white-ball cricket as India starts their T20I series against England on Wednesday. After disastrous losses to both New Zealand and Australia, head coach Gautam Gambhir will hope for some redemption against his old teammate from Kolkata Knight Riders, Brendon McCullum.

McCullum, who will begin his tenure as the all-format coach of England, has already promised entertainment—akin to his Bazball approach in red-ball cricket. McCullum brings with him an energetic young side, filled with bright prospects such as Harry Brook and Jacob Bethell.

Gambhir’s main challenge, however, may not be the England think tank or the squad itself. It could be the baggage he carries from the tour of Australia. Gambhir faced criticism for his team selection and approach during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and that scrutiny will be revisited once again in the upcoming 8-match white-ball series against England.

Fortunately, Gambhir finds himself on familiar turf. Few visiting players know Eden Gardens and Kolkata as well as he does. In the 2024 IPL, the season in which Gambhir took over as the mentor of the team, one of the KKR fans cried his heart out in a meet and greet with Gambhir, begging the former skipper to remain with KKR forever.

Although that didn’t happen and Gambhir joined Team India, his stint at KKR puts him in an advantageous position against an ultra-aggressive England team.

India vs England: Team News

India captain Suryakumar Yadav confirmed a couple of things in the pre-match press conference. First, Suryakumar re-confirmed Sanju Samson's position in the side, stating that the wicketkeeper-batter was the preferred choice for this team in the T20I format.

Suryakumar also said that his Mumbai teammate Tilak Varma was going to come out at No. 3, ahead of him. It is an interesting choice by the Indian skipper and the team management, given Suryakumar became a world-beater batting at that position, and one wonders if this change was really necessary?

India vs England: Pitch and Weather Conditions

The Eden pitch was an absolute road to bat on in the Indian Premier League 2024 season. Last season, Punjab Kings created history by chasing down 262 runs against KKR with 8 balls remaining. In fact, Rajasthan Royals also triumphed over KKR in the same edition of the tournament, chasing down 224 runs.

The pitch is expected to play the same, and things could be even more accentuated by the fall of dew in the evening. It is winter across India, and dew is expected to make life difficult for the bowlers in the second innings of the match.

India vs England: Team Combinations

With dew falling in the second innings, India might opt to pick only defensive spinners in the side. Given that Axar Patel has been promoted to vice-captaincy, he is assured of a position in the line-up. And the second person that is sure to get a nod is Varun Chakravarthy, who not only knows Eden well but was also in sensational form against South Africa in the last T20I series.

Focus will also be on Mohammed Shami who is set to make his return in international cricket after a long injury layover. Since his appearance in the ODI World Cup Final in 2023, Shami has been plagued with injuries to his ankle and knee, which has kept him away from international cricket for over a year.

Shami's return will provide India with much needed boost in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah.

England on the other hand will be hoping to unleash the likes of Phil Salt and Jos Buttler on the Indian team. England also have extremely quick bowlers - Mark Wood and Jofra Archer, who are capable of striking fear into the eyes of the opposition. Young Jacob Bethell, who is on his maiden tour of India will be in focus after an impressive start to his career.

India's Predicted Playing XI

Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy/Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakravarthy

England's Playing XI

Ben Duckett, Phil Salt (wk), Jos Buttler (c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

IND vs ENG: T20I Series Squads

India (IND)

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 (ENG)

Jos Buttler (C/WK), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook (VC), Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Jamie Smith (WK), Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood, Phil Salt (WK), Mark Wood

IND vs ENG: T20I series schedule

1st T20I: Wednesday, 22 January 2025 in Kolkata from 7:00 pm onwards

2nd T20I: Saturday, 25 January 2025 in Chennai from 7:00 pm onwards

3rd T20I: Tuesday, 28 January 2025 in Rajkot from 7:00 pm onwards

4th T20I: Friday, 31 January 2025 in Pune from 7:00 pm onwards

5th T20I: Sunday, 02 February 2025 in Mumbai from 7:00 pm onwards