IND vs ENG: Mohammed Shami not picked for playing XI in first T20I, India name only one specialist pacer

Veteran India pacer Mohammed Shami has not been picked for India's first T20I against England at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The hosts named one specialist pacer in Arshdeep Singh, while Hardik Pandya and Nitish Kumar Reddy can assist him whenever required.

India are heavily backing their spinners in the first T20I against England at the iconic Eden Gardens on January 22. Ace pacer Mohammed Shami, who was deemed a favourite to make his international return in the game has been benched, despite the 34-year-old practising hard in the nets. The team management instead backed the pace-bowling all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Nitish Kumar Reddy for the match while Shami will have to wait for his opportunity.

Dew is expected to play a massive role in the game. Despite so, the Men in Blue have named three spinners - Varun Chakravarthy, Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi in the playing XI. Hardik is likely to partner with Arshdeep Singh with the new ball and if required, Nitish Kumar Reddy could be used in the middle overs. 

Meanwhile, captain Suryakumar Yadav hasn’t explained the reason behind not picking Shami for the first T20I. He featured for Bengal in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Vijay Hazare and even in the Ranji Trophy but the veteran couldn’t break into the playing XI.

On the other hand, the Suryakumar Yadav-led Indian team has been in red-hot form in recent times, having won 13 out of their last 15 games after the T20 World Cup 2024. The Men in Blue are undefeated at home since 2019 when they last lost a two-match home series to Australia 2-0. They have won 14 of the 16 series since then with two other being drawn ones.

On Wednesday, Suryakumar won the toss and elected to bowl first. The dew will make it easier for the batters in the second innings and India will look forward to capitalising on that. Meanwhile, England have named four pacers in the squad, very different from India’s approach.

India playing XI - Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy

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