Harbhajan Singh Reveals His Indian Playing Eleven For First T20I Against England

Veteran India spinner Harbhajan Singh has revealed his playing Indian playing eleven for the upcoming first T20I against England.

India will take on England in a three-match series which will get underway on July 3 at Old Trafford. And it is safe to say that the team-management will have a hard time when it sits down to pick the best eleven for the opener. The reason being the players’ stunning performance in the recently-concluded T20I series against Ireland.

The team will be particularly having its task cut out while it decides the opening combination. Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma are the incumbent openers but KL Rahul made a huge case for himself with a stunning show in the second T20I when he blasted 70 off just 36.

Well, Harbhajan Singh feels India should include Rahul in the team but should open with the tried and tested pair of Dhawan and Rohit. The off-spinner opined that Rahul should bat at number five.

Speaking to Aaj Tak, Harbhajan said that Virat Kohli should bat at number three while in-form Suresh Raina should bat at number four. There were calls for MS Dhoni to be promoted at number five. However, Harbhajan feels that the former skipper should bat at number six after Rahul.

For the bowling lineup, he went with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav. And India would have pretty much gone with the same bowling lineup, they will have to find a replacement for Bumrah.

The premier pacer along with Washington Sundar has been ruled out of the forthcoming series with injury. The right-arm pacer fractured his finger during the first T20I against Ireland. On the other hand, Sundar injured his ankle while playing football during a warm-up session earlier this week.

Here is Harbhajan’s playing eleven for the series opener:

Shikhar Dhawan; Rohit Sharma; Virat Kohli; Suresh Raina; KL Rahul; MS Dhoni; Hardik Pandya; Kuldeep Yadav; Yuzvendra Chahal; Jasprit Bumrah; Bhuvneshwar Kumar;