The first game of an eagerly awaited five-match T20I series between India and England is set to get underway at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday afternoon.
After the T20I series, these two cricketing giants will face off in a three-match ODI series, serving as a dress rehearsal for both sides ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Match preview
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This will be the first white-ball series between India and England since that thrilling three-match T20I series in 2022, in which India came out on top, winning the series 2-1.
India have showcased exceptional dominance in white-ball cricket, clinching the title at the ICC 2024 T20 World Cup, where they beat South Africa in a nail-biter that went down to the final ball of the innings.
Indeed, Suryakumar Yadav's side's dominance in the shortest format has been incredible, as they have won every bilateral T20 series since August 2023, and the captain will aim to build on the success of his revamped team as they prepare for the co-hosted T20 World Cup in February 2026.
For the Men in Blue, this series also presents an opportunity to usher in new blood to shape the future of the team in the shortest format following the retirement of stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Notably, the hosts have indicated a flexible strategy for the upcoming series, with newly appointed vice-captain Axar Patel stating that the team is open to experimenting with a floating batting line-up.
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Meanwhile, despite reaching the semi-final of the T20 World Cup last year, England were evidently some way from their best in the tournament and their performances have been fairly unconvincing since then.
The Three Lions were beaten 3-2 in a five-match ODI series against old foes Australia in September last year, fell 2-1 to Pakistan in the five-day format a month later, and were edged 2-1 by the West Indies in the final 50-over series of 2024.
Jos Buttler's side's last outing ended in a hard-fought Test series victory over New Zealand in December and they will be hoping to kick off 2025 on a positive note with Brendon McCullum now in charge of the limited-overs squad, having previously only been the responsible for the Test side.
However, the visitors will know that it will certainly not be easy here, facing an opponent that were far too good for the Proteas and thumped the ever-improving Bangladesh 3-0 at home ahead of this series.
Encounters between these two sides have been tightly contested, with India winning 13 out of their 24 T20 matches, including their most recent clash in the semi-final of the 2024 T20 World Cup in Guyana, while England have come out on top in this contest 11 times.
Team News
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Veteran fast bowler Mohammad Shami is set to make his return in this series after an extended injury break, while all-rounder Washington Sundar will re-enter the squad following his involvement in the Test tour of Australia.
The squad also includes highly-rated young talents Harshit Rana, Nitish Reddy and Dhruv Jurel, while key players such as Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant have been rested.
While England's T20 squad has been fairly settled in recent series, the two-time champs are likely to offer opportunities to players such as Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse and Jamie Smith before the ODI series and the Champions Trophy.
Bethell, in particular, has caught the eye in recent times with his aggressive batting, boasting a striking rate of 167.96 in T20I, while Buttler is just four sixes shy of becoming the first Three Lions player to hit 150 maximums in the shortest format.
India squad: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Sanju Samson (w/k), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel
England squad: Jos Buttler (captain), Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Phil Salt, Jamie Smith (w/k), Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Saqib Mahmood, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
We say: India to win
India have been in fine form in the white-ball format in recent times, beating South Africa and Bangladesh fairly easily toward the back-end of last year.
The Men in Blue were far too good for England in their last encounter at the T20 World Cup, and on their home patch, we feel the hosts will come out on top in this opening match of the series as well.
Devesh Jaganath
