Team selector: Pick your India XI for England T20Is

Team selector: Pick your India XI to face England for their five-match T20I series.

India made an incredible comeback from 0-1 to clinch the Test series 3-1 and secured their spot in the World Test Championship final. However, attention now turns from the red ball to the white, with the T20I series opener to take place on March 12. Rishabh Pant, the hero of India’s win in the final Test in Ahmedabad, has returned to the T20I squad. The left-hander, alongside KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan, is among the three wicket-keepers in the mix. Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav and Rahul Tewatia are the three uncapped players in the squad.

India have selected a spate of pace bowlers for the series, including Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar and Varun Chakravathy. There have been reports of Chakravarthy and Tewatia failing the fitness test ahead of the series, but they haven’t been confirmed by the BCCI. Jasprit Bumrah has been left out for personal reasons.

Rahul, Dhawan and Rohit are likely to compete for the opening slots, with Virat Kohli coming in at No.3. Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan and Rishabh Pant will fight to get into the limited middle order slots. Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel and Rahul Tewatia are the all-rounders in the squad.

India’s last T20I assignment was an away series against Australia, which they won 2-1. This series will be a great chance for both sides to test their fringe players ahead of the T20 World Cup in India later this year.

The schedule for the T20I series:

Mar 12, 1st T20I, Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Mar 14, 2nd T20I, Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Mar 16, 3rd T20I, Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Mar 18, 4th T20I, Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Mar 20, 5th T20I, Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad

What India XI would you like to see in their T20I series against England? Have your say here: