Rohit Sharma won the toss, electing to bat first against Jos Buttler-led England. The first of three T20Is at Southampton’s Ageas Bowl draws together the two top-ranked sides.
“Looks like a good pitch, decent ground, sun is out, better to bat first,” says Rohit. “I am recovered now, I had a couple of hits so looking forward to it. We are prepared, the scheduling happens, we have the understanding that players will be swapped. Opportunities for the guys, these guys have been here a while, in Ireland, can’t wait to get back,” said Rohit Sharma after winning the toss.
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“A proud day, looking forward to the challenges ahead. Eoin has left the team in a great place and the pressure is on to take it forward. The Test team has been fantastic to watch and hearing people talking so glowingly about it,” said Jos Buttler.
In team news, left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh receives his first cap. While Buttler confirmed that Richard Gleeson, David Willey and Phil Salt miss out from the English XI.
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Teams:
England: Jason Roy, Jos Buttler (captain & wicket-keeper), Dawid Malan, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills, Reece Topley, Matt Parkinson
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh
