India captain Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and opted 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 with star pacer Mohammed Shami unable to make the cut. Shami, who last played for India in November 2023, was seen bowling in the nets ahead of toss, before Suryakumar delivered the shocking news. Speaking on India’s playing XI, India skipper Suryakumar said that he wanted to stick to the strengths.

“We will look to bowl first. The wicket looks sticky, there will be dew later on. It will be heavier later on. The boys have been amazing. The preparations have been good, looking forward to this series. It’s going to be great competition between both the sides. A good headache, we want to stick to our strengths,” Suryakumar said at the toss.

“Looks a good wicket, I’m sure it’s going to be a good match. There will be some dew around. It’s a great ground, it’s an honour to play against India in these conditions. Everyone is in a good spot. It’s nice to be together, a lot to look forward to. McCullum taking charge, he has a lot of experience. It’s going to be a challenge, we are right up for it. There is some incredible talent in both sides. Saqib Mahmood, Brydon Carse, Jamie Smith and Rehan Ahmed will miss out,” England captain Jos Buttler stated.

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