Former India spinner R Ashwin has predicted that the upcoming India v England 5-match T20I series will be highly entertaining and a true test for the new T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav. This will be the third high-profile T20I series in which Suryakumar Yadav will captain India after dominating Bangladesh and South Africa.
The India vs England T20I series will kick-start from Wednesday at the Eden Gardens.
“Bangladesh was a weak team, while South Africa fielded a second-string pace attack, although their batting was excellent. We played against Bangladesh, but they are no match for India. I think that series was a mismatch. I think that series should not be considered a true reflection of our strength.
Against South Africa, they also rested many of their key players. They rested their bowlers for the Test series, and our batters capitalized by scoring big totals,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
Ashwin anticipates an entertaining series against England, given the venues and both teams’ aggressive batting approaches.
“Bazball vs Skyball will be an exciting spectacle. This series will also test India’s T20I depth. All the venues are batting-friendly, with small boundaries and high-scoring grounds. Both teams are packed with powerful hitters, and it promises to be an entertaining series for fans who enjoy aggressive batting,” he added.
Ashwin also highlighted the evolution of the T20I format in recent years.
“This T20I era is all about flexibility. Three or four years ago, batters were reluctant to play out of their usual positions, but bowlers now vary their bowling strategies throughout the 20 overs,” Ashwin stated.
Ashwin predicted a likely playing XI for India in the first T20I against England at Eden Gardens and discussed the challenges Indian batters will face.
“Sanju Samson has been exceptional as an opener. Tilak Verma also excelled in South Africa. 1 It will be interesting to see if Surya, Tilak, and Sanju can maintain their high strike rates against the strong English attack.
The playing XI is fairly straightforward. There might be a toss-up between Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar, but at Eden, with dew likely to play a significant role, India might opt for Nitish,” he said.
Ashwin’s India XI for 1st T20I v England:
Sanju Samson (WK), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, and Mohammad Shami
