With the ICC Champions Trophy looming, it’s time for England and India to put their white-ball skills to practice as they face England in five T20 and three ODI matches.
India sits at the top of the ICC T20 rankings, while England is third.
The men in blue dominate the ODI format, unlike England, which is seventh.
This will be the last white ball series before the ICC Champions Trophy.
The Champions Trophy, which kicks off on 19 March, is the third-biggest ICC event in the world and the second 50-over tournament after the World Cup.
White Ball Schedule
Here is the schedule for the Tour:
T20 Series:
22nd January: 1st T20: Eden Gardens, Kolkata: 13:30
25th January: 2nd T20: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai: 13:30
28th January: 3rd T20: Niranjan Shah Stadium, Rajkot: 13:30
31st January: 4th T20: MCA Stadium, Pune: 13:30
2nd February: 5th T20: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai: 13:30
T20 Squads:
India:
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).
India Star To Watch: Varun Chakravarthy
Embed from Getty ImagesMystery spinners, or spinners with various deliveries, are pretty rare in India; however, if you have one that spins the ball both ways, it’s perfect for T20 cricket.
Chakravarty has played just 13 T20is so far in his International career and picked up 19 wickets at a strike rate of 15.9 and an economy of 6.79.
In last season’s IPL(Indian Premier League), he was the second-highest wicket-taker, with 21 scalps at a rate of 41.28 and an economy of 8.04.
He will be eager to make an impact on this Series.
England:
Jos Buttler (WK & C), Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethel, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Smith(WK), Phil Salt(WK), Gus Atkinson, Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Saqib Mahmood,
England Star T0 Watch: Jacob Bethel
Embed from Getty ImagesA young talent to look out for is the Left-Hander from Warwickshire. Bethel was impressed with his Test Series debut against New Zealand, scoring 260 runs in his six innings.
As far as his International T20 career has gone, he has played just seven matches, scoring 173 runs at a strike rate of 167.96.
In last season’s Vitality Blast, he scored 361 runs for Birmingham Bears at a rate of 134.66.
He also scored 167 runs in seven matches for Birmingham Phoenix in last year’s Hundred competition.
He was also part of the IPL 2025 Mega Auction, where the Royal Challengers Bangalore bought him for $2.6million.
Can he prove why he is worth that price?
Predictions
This is a tight one to predict. Two good teams with a tremendous amount of talent, but as it’s in spin-friendly conditions, you would have to route for a 3-2 win to the hosts.
ODI Series:
6th February: 1st ODI: VCA Stadium, Nagpur: 08:00 am
9th February: 2nd ODi: Barabati Stadium: Cuttack: 08:00 am
12th February: 3rd ODI: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad: 08:00 am
Squads: ODI Series
INDIA: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami, Harshit Rana
ENGLAND: Jos Buttler (capt), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Phil Salt, Jamie Smith (wk), Mark Wood.
India Star To Watch: Shubman Gill
Embed from Getty ImagesIndia’s new vice-captain was amongst the batters who had a tough time in Australia. Yet he still is third in the ODI batting rankings.
There is a dilemma for Sharma in deciding who his opening partner should be, as the exuberant Yashasvi Jaiswal had a terrific time in Australia.
Gill, who was Sharma’s opening partner since September 2022, has 2,328 runs in 47 ODI’s, at an average of 58.20 and a strike rate of 101.74.
Given that the Indian media and some fans have criticised the young Right-Hander because of his lack of form, it’ll be intriguing to see whether the added responsibility can kickstart his way into form.
England Star To Watch: Harry Brook
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Yorkshire batter, likely to be Buttler’s deputy, is England’s player to watch in this Series.
In his 20 ODIs, Brook has 719 runs at a strike rate of 106.83 and an average of 34.94.
As he is regarded as one of the future stars, can he explain why he is in this series?
Brook is also on the list of nominees for the ICC Men’s Cricketer Of The Year.
Can he make an impression in this Series?
Predictions
This promises to be a tight series, but due to home advantage, you’d have to go for a 2-1 victory for India.
For more information on England’s white-ball tour of India, visit World In Sport.