Young guns, returning Kohli on focus as India look to seal series vs England

#AxarPatel #BhuvneshwarKumar #Birmingham

India take on England in the 2nd T20I match at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham, on Saturday
The game will see Virat Kohli, who is witnessing a lean patch, make his T20I return after five months
Deepak Hooda, who has been batting at Kohli's position, has made a huge impact

Written By:Vaishnavi Vaidyanathan

Updated: July 08 2022 10:46:40 PM ET Birmingham, UK

All eyes will be on the young guns as India take on England in the 2nd T20I match at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham, on Saturday. The game will also see star India batter Virat Kohli, who is witnessing a lean patch, make his T20I return after five months. The 33-year-old has played only two games since the T20 World Cup in October-November 2021.

Also Read: India vs England 1st T20I: Records, stats and pitch report

Deepak Hooda, who has been batting at Kohli’s position, has made a huge impact and will be difficult to drop on Saturday. He showed spectacular form in the first T20I game against England, scoring a 17-ball 33. If India decide to retain Hooda, then Kohli could open alongside captain Rohit Sharma. This was mean that Ishan Kishan, who has also been consistent at the top, will be dropped.

Besides Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, and Shreyas Iyer have also joined the T20 squad following a break after the fifth Test, which England won by 7 wickets.

Jadeja is a like-for-like replacement for Axar Patel and his inclusion in the squad also makes the batting unit more solid.

Also Read: India vs England T20 Series: Schedule, squads, timings, venues and more

On the bowling front, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been impressive with the new ball, and Bumrah is expected to join him. Arshdeep Singh made a successful debut in the 1st T20I on Thursday but since he is not included in the squad for the next two games, Umran Malik may get more chances.

The presence of Hardik Pandya, whose heroics with both bat and ball powered India to a 50-run win in the first T20I, is surely a big boost to the side in a World Cup year.

Squads –

India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik.

England: Jos Buttler (captain), Moeen Ali, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Richard Gleeson, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Tymal Mills, Matthew Parkinson, Jason Roy, Phil Salt, Reece Topley and David Willey.