After losing the Test series against India, England have announced a full-strength squad for the five-match T20I series against the Men in Blue. Eoin Morgan and his men have all their bases covered for this all-important series. All five matches will be played at the Narendra Modi stadium which will host 50 percent of the crowd capacity. This provides a perfect setting to the T20I series where conditions will be very different to what it was in the Test series. More about the 1st T20I preview in detail below.

Team India’s Rohit Sharma said that they are not treating this series as a dress-rehearsal for the World T20 later this year to be played in India. He said that the team is focusing on the present and hoping that the future takes care of itself.

“You are playing for India, your country, and there’s no rehearsal here. It doesn’t matter which opposition you are playing against; you are wearing the national jersey and going out. For us, it is important to win the series and do our best. If you focus on the present, the future will be bright. We need to do the little things right” said Rohit.

The BCCI has named a pretty young squad and ones who have performed in the IPL consistently well in the last couple of years. Suryakumar Yadav has finally earned his maiden India call-up after consistent performances in domestic cricket and the IPL. The BCCI has also included players like Ishan Kishan, Rahul Tewatia who also performed well for their respective franchises. Picking the best XI for the five games thus would be a difficult job for the team management.

They have a lot more options in their batting line-up but injuries to a couple of players have got the management thinking about fielding the best possible bowling line-up. However, one good thing is that they have enough options who can play as good cover-ups for the injured players. This is where India’s depth as an international side keeps them in good stead. 

Meanwhile, England’s white-ball side looks a lot different and stronger than the Test side that played India recently. The team has specialists and proved matchwinners like Ben Stokes, Sam Curran, Jos Buttler, Eoin Morgan amongst others.

Throw in specialists like pacers Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Chris Jordan and wrist-spinner Adil Rashid and the Indian batsmen know that they are in for a challenge. England will look to make the best use of these five games to prepare themselves for the World T20 later this year in India.

Also Read: India’s Predicted Playing XI For 1st T20I vs England

Head to Head

• Total matches played: 14
• India won: 7
• England won: 7

Pitch & Weather Conditions For 1st T20I

It will be hot and humid conditions at the Motera which will host both the teams for all five matches. The Motera track will certainly be a flat deck, suiting the needs of the shortest format and with a lot of batting firepower in both sides. Plenty of sixes will be for the taking for both teams as the ball will come onto the bat quite nicely.

Squads For 1st T20I Between India & England

India 

Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, Rahul Tewatia, Ishan Kishan

England

Eoin Morgan (captain), Joss Buttler, Jason Roy, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley, Chris Jordan, Mark Wood, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Sam Billings, Jonny Bairstow, Jofra Archer

Also Read: India vs England 2021: 1st T20I- Fantasy Tips, Predicted XI, Top Fantasy Picks