No Mohammed Shami in playing XI for 1st England T20I. Suryakumar Yadav Says “We Will…”

India captain Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and chose to bowl against England in the 1st T20I at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday. However, there was a big surprise as far as India’s playing XI is concerned as star pacer Mohammed Shami failed to make the cut. Shami, who last played for India in November 2023, was seen bowling in the nets before the toss before Suryakumar delivered the shocking news. Talking about India’s playing XI, India skipper Suryakumar said he wanted to stick to the strengths.

“We will look to bowl first. The weight looks sticky, there will be dew later. It will be heavier later. The boys have been great. The preparation has been good, I am looking forward to this series. It will be great competition between both sides. A good headache, we want to stick to our strengths,” Suryakumar said at the toss.

“Looks a good wicket, I’m sure it will be a good game. There will be some fog around. It’s a great pitch, it’s an honor to play against India in these conditions. Everyone is in a good place . It’s great to be together, a lot to look forward to. Saqib Mahmood, Jamie Smith and Rehan Ahmed will be missed,” said England captain Jos Buttler.

India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson(w), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy

England (Playing XI): Ben Duckett, Philip Salt(w), Jos Buttler(c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood