The Men in Blue are set to take on Jos Buttler-led England in the first T20I in Southampton on Thursday. After the loss in the Edgbaston Test, the visitors will be hoping for a winning start to the white-ball series. The return of skipper Rohit Sharma is indeed a big boost for the team but it will be interesting to see how the management finalizes the playing XI for the series opener, especially when Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and Pant will not be there.
Cricket fans are eager to see Rahul Tripathi making his international debut. However, former cricketer Aakash Chopra feels that the Maharashtra batsman will have to wait for his chance. Tripathi earned the first call-up for two T20Is against Ireland, but missed a game in that series.
1. to reviewscheduled tribe India On YouTube vs England T20I, Chopra said the visitors can experiment with the combination but finds it difficult to make the cut for Tripathi.
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“There is no guarantee which team will play. We can see Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh coming. But I still can’t see Rahul Tripathi in the playing XI even if he is part of the team,” said Chopra in his latest YouTube video.
With the return of Rohit, Rituraj Gaikwad’s place is likely to be in danger. Since Ishaan Kishan’s parade with the captain is a tried-and-tested thing, Chopra feels that Gaikwad may also have to sit out.
“I don’t see any place for Ruturaj Gaikwad either. His injury has hit a double whammy. He did not get a chance to play against Ireland. I am assuming he is fit now but Rohit Sharma is back so I don’t see him playing in this game.
India will play the same set of bowlers which is 2. was inRa T20I against Ireland. Although the Men in Blue won the game by 4 runs, the Irishmen batted bravely against the Indian attack. Taking note of this, Chopra said there will be pressure on the bowling attack.
“There will be pressure on India’s bowlers. In the second T20I against Ireland, we saw that this bowling attack could be taken for runs – be it Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Harshal Patel. Ireland almost beat us,” he said.
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