ENG vs IND: England Is A Different Side In The T20I Series - Rohit Sharma On England's Win In Edgbaston Test

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said England will be a different side in the upcoming T20I series than the one that recently defeated them in the rescheduled fifth Test at Edgbaston.

On Tuesday (July 5), the Ben Stokes-led England outplayed the visitors by seven wickets in what was a come-from-behind victory to square the five-match series 2-2.

The hosts rode on incredible knocks of Joe Root (142*) and Jonny Bairstow (114*) to record their highest chase of 378 in Test cricket, surpassing the 359 against Australia at the Headingley in 2019.

England became the first Test side to chase a target of over 250 in four straight games following the heroics of 277 at Lord’s, 299 at Trent Bridge, and 296 at Headingley against New Zealand before scripting the historic result against India at Edgbaston.

England to miss Ben Stokes, and Jonny Bairstow for India T20I series

England have rested red-ball regulars like Stokes and Bairstow for the three-match T20I series against India. Root, who last played the format in May 2019, was only named in the ODI squad along with Stokes and Bairstow.

It means England won’t play any of their match-winning players at Edgbaston in T20Is against Rohit & co. The 2019 World Cup champions will commence a new white-ball era with Jos Buttler as the skipper, taking over the reins from Eoin Morgan who announced his international retirement on June 28.

England is also a different side: Rohit Sharma

On the other hand, India also rested its Test regulars for the first T20I match only for them to return in the last two games. The likes of Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah will miss the game on Thursday.

“I spoke to a few of those guys here, obviously they know the result (the fifth Test) but they did not watch the game. It is a bit disappointing not to come out on the winning side, but clearly, it is a different format and a different set of players who are going to take the field for us,” Rohit said in a press conference on the eve of the first T20I match.

“And England is also a different side, a lot of the guys who won the Test match at Edgbaston are not here, so it is a different side for both teams. Time will tell whether that result has impacted our preparation in this format,” he added.

England and India will kick off the first T20I match on Thursday at the Rose Bowl in Southampton.

Also Read: IND vs ENG: England’s Predicted Playing XI Against India, 1st T20I