On Saturday, January 11, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the India national cricket team's strong XI for the upcoming T20I series against the England national cricket team.
The England national cricket team will tour India from January-February for a long white-ball series, which will consist of five T20I matches and three ODI matches.
India and England will play the matches in 8 different stadiums
England's 2025 tour of India will begin with a T20I series with the first match taking place at Kolkata's iconic Eden Gardens on Wednesday, January 22.
After that, the next two matches will be played on Saturday, January 25 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai and on Tuesday, January 28 at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot.
On Friday, January 31, the fourth T20I will be played at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune while the fifth and final T20I is scheduled to be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, February 2.
Next, the ODI series between the Three Lions and the Men in Blue will begin. The series opener will be played at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur on Thursday, February 6, while the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack is scheduled to host the second ODI on Sunday, February 9.
England's 2025 tour of India will conclude with the third and final ODI on Wednesday, February 12 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
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The hosts' squad, which will be led by Suryakumar Yadav, has Mohammed Shami returning
Suryakumar Yadav will lead the team in the series against the Three Lions. In the batting department, Suryakumar will be supported by the likes of Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Abhishek Sharma and Rinku Singh among others. Rishabh Pant has been dropped from the T20Is, according to reports, while Dhruv Jurel has been picked.
The bowling unit will be led by the returning Mohammed Shami, who has returned to India after being out of the squad since November 2023. The bowling department also includes left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh and spinner Varun Chakravarthy – both of whom have done exceptional work for the side in recent times.
The outstanding trio of Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel, the vice-captain, will provide the much-needed balance to the team. Notably, spearhead Jasprit Bumrah along with Mohammed Siraj have been rested for the T20I series.
Meanwhile, the series against the Jos Buttler-led side will be India's first T20I stint since their stunning win over the Proteas in South Africa in November 2024. The Men In Blue put in impressive performances in the four-match T20I series against South Africa National Cricket Board. The team won 3-1.
The team led by Suryakumar Yadav started the series with a 61-run win and then finished with a dominant 135-run victory to end their run on a high. They will look to display a similar kind of performance against England and keep their impressive T20I record intact.
India's lineup for the T20I series against England
Team: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Sanju Samson (WK), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel (VC), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi. ., Washington Sundar, Dhruv Gurel (week).
