India T20I squad for England series announced, Mohammad Shami returns, Rishabh Pant axed

On Saturday, January 11, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the strong squad of the India National Cricket Team for the upcoming T20I series against the England National Cricket Team.

England National Cricket Team will be touring India in January-February for a lengthy white-ball series, which will consist of five T20I matches and three ODI games.

India And England To Play Matches Across 8 Different Venues

The England tour of India 2025 will begin with the T20I series with the first match being played at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday, January 22.

Then, the next two matches will be played on Saturday, January 25, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai and on Tuesday, January 28, at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot.

On Friday, January 31, the fourth T20I match will be hosted by the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune while the fifth and final game is set to be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, February 2.

After that, the ODI series between the Three Lions and the Men In Blue will start. The series opener will be played at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur on Thursday, February 6, while the second ODI is scheduled to be hosted by Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Sunday, February 9.

The England tour of India 2025 will conclude with the third and final ODI on Wednesday, February 12, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

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The Squad Of Hosts To Be Led By Suryakumar Yadav, Mohammed Shami returns

Suryakumar Yadav will be leading the team in the series against the Three Lions. In the batting department, Suryakumar will be supported by the likes of Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Abhishek Sharma and Rinku Singh among others. Rishabh Pant has been dropped from T20Is, as per reports, while Dhruv Jurel has been selected.

The bowling unit will be led by returning Mohammed Shami, who has made his India comeback after being out of the set-up since November 2023. Also, the bowling department features the left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh and spinner Varun Chakravarthy - both of whom have done an exceptional job for the side in recent times.

The trio of the premier all-rounders Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel, who is vice-captain, will provide a much-needed balance to the team. Notably, the pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah alongside Mohammed Siraj has been rested for the T20I series.

Meanwhile, the series against the Jos Buttler-led side will be India's first T20I assignment since their stunning victory over the Proteas in South Africa in November 2024. The Men In Blue delivered brilliant performances in the four-match T20I series against South Africa National Cricket Team and clinched a 3-1 victory.

Suryakumar Yadav-led team started off the series with a 61-run win and then finished off with a dominant 135-run triumph to end their tour on a high. They would be looking forward to showcasing a similar kind of performance against England and keeping their incredible T20I record intact.

India Squad For T20I Series Against England

Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel (vc), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel (wk).