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India and England are all set to face off in the first ODI of the three-match series. The encounter will be played in Nagpur on Thursday, February 6.
The Champions Trophy is on the horizon, and both teams will want to tune their final preparations for the marquee ICC event. India have a few concerns regarding their experienced players and will want to fix those at the earliest. The Men in Blue may also have an eye on trying out a couple of fresh faces during the rubber, although they are expected to go in with a stable combination to start.
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India’s squad for the ODI series against England: Rohit Sharma (c), Ꮪhubman Gill (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy.
On that note, here is India's predicted playing XI for the first ODI against England.
Openers: Rohit Sharma (c) and Shubman Gill
Leaving Yashasvi Jaiswal out seems like a criminal offense, but India are likely to field their first-choice opening combination of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. The duo have done exceedingly well for the Men in Blue, although the former seems to have lost his golden touch a bit. Rohit will want to be among the runs against England.
Middle Order: Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar
India's middle order is also expected to wear a similar look to the one that started the 2023 World Cup. Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja are experienced and add value to the side, making them frontrunners to continue in the Champions Trophy as well.
Rishabh Pant's left-handedness could tempt India to play him as the wicket-keeper ahead of Rahul, but the latter has done well at No. 5 over the last two years. India have no real reason to make the change, although Pant has the faith of the team management.
The hosts might need to choose between Axar Patel and Washington Sundar to be the second spin-bowling all-rounder. The presence of two left-handers in the England lineup could tilt the scales in Sundar's favor, although this one could go either way.
Lower Order: Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami
Kuldeep Yadav will make his long-awaited comeback from injury in the first ODI against England. Varun Chakaravarthy, who has been added to the squad, will likely be used at some point, but he might not feature in the series opener.
India could go in with a two-pronged specialist pace attack in the form of Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Shami. Shami, devoid of match practice at the top level in ODIs, will want to get back into prime rhythm soon.
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