"This team is the kind that you want with all-rounders" - Former India batter lauds Team India combination for 2025 IND vs ENG T20I series

Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar had lauded the Men in Blue’s squad ahead of the five-match T20I series against England. The cricketer-turned-commentator credited the reigning T20 World Cup champions for quality all-rounders in their side. The 59-year-old reserved special praise for Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar.

Suryakumar Yadav and Co. have completed a hat-trick of series wins against Sri Lanka (3-0 A), Bangladesh (3-0 H), and South Africa (3-1 A). Sanju Samson (three tons in his last six games) and Tilak Varma (back-to-back 100s) have been tremendous with the bat. They scored two centuries during the four-match T20I series in South Africa.

Meanwhile, Abhishek Sharma and Nitish Kumar Reddy have made head turns with their centuries in T20Is and Tests in Zimbabwe and Australia, respectively.

On the eve of the first T20I at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Sanjay Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo [4:28]:

“When you look at this Indian T20 side, you’ve got Sanju Samson, who is a very very capable pure batter but can keep wickets as well. Abhishek Sharma can bowl a couple of good overs of left-arm spin. You’ve got quite a few of that kind of players and that augurs well.”

“Nitish Kumar Reddy, for example, you’ll be tented to play him as a pure batter down the order but [he] can bowl a couple of decent overs. So, this team is the kind that you want with all-rounders who are there because their one skill is very good. Washington Sundar as well,” he added.

Reddy will return to the side after missing the T20I series in South Africa due to the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The 21-year-old smashed 74 runs off 34 balls and bagged two wickets against Bangladesh while playing his only second T20I for the Men in Blue last year.

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Sanjay Manjrekar’s India playing XI vs England in T20I series opener

The likes of Harshit Rana, Ravi Bishnoi, Dhruv Jurel, and Washington Sundar missed out as Sanjay Manjrekar picked his India playing XI for the series opener against England.

Manjrekar's playing XI: Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Tilka Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Shami.