 "IND vs ENG: Will Mohammed Shami play? India's likely playing XI for 2nd T20I against England")
synopsis
Ahead of the second T20I in Chennai, there is a question whether Mohammed Shami would feature in the playing XI. Shami was not included in the playing XI for the T20I series opener against England because of the team’s combination.
Team India will take on England in the second T20I of the five-match series at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on January 25, Saturday. The Men in Blue led by Suryakumar Yadav took a 1-0 series lead after winning the first T20I by seven wickets at Eden Gardens Stadium on Wednesday, January 24.
With a target of 133, Team India chased it down in 12.5 overs. Abhishek Sharma led the hosts’ batting with a brilliant knock of 74 off 34 balls, while Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma contributed to the chase with innings of 26 and 19, respectively. Indian bowlers did a fantastic job to bundle out England for 132. Arshdeep Singh (2/17) and Varun Chakravarthy (3/23) troubled the England batters early on in the match before Hardik Pandya (2/42) and Axar Patel (2/22).
Ahead of the second T20I in Chennai, there is a question whether Mohammed Shami would feature in the playing XI. Shami was not included in the playing XI for the T20I series opener against England because of the team’s combination. Team India management picked three spinners in Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, and Varun Chakravarthy, and one frontline pacer in Arshdeep Singh, thus leaving out the veteran pacer. India captain Suryakumar Yadav didn’t give the reason for excluding Mohammed Shami, who made his return to Indian team after a year long injury layoff.
It has been reported that Gautam Gambhir picked the players depending on the conditions of the pitch rather than the players’ individual form. Also, Team India management was reportedly not satisfied with Mohammed Shami’s fitness as his left knee was heavily strapped up during the practice sessions. However, the veteran pacer was bowling in full tilt at the side net ahead of the first T20I in Kolkata. Though Shami was included in the T20I squad for the five-match series against England, Team India management wouldn’t want to take a risk of picking the Bengal pacer into the team until they are confident about his fitness and readiness to play at the highest level.
Meanwhile, India are unlikely to make major changes in the playing XI for the second T20I in Chennai. In the last match, Hardik Pandya proved to be expensive, conceding 42 runs in four overs. Thus, Team India management will look to bring in one more frontline pacer to complement Arshdeep Singh. If Mohammed Shami is still unfit to take the field, the hosts could look to bring inHarshit Rana as the extra specialist pacer into the playing XI. To accommodate an extra pacer, India need to drop one spinner from the team. Since Varun Chakravarthy is in brilliant form, the hosts are unlikely to drop him. Ravi Bishnoi, who went wicketless in the first T20I, is likely to make space for an extra pacer if India are looking to go with two frontline seamers instead of one.
India’s likely playing XI for the 2nd T20I:
Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel (vc), Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy and Arshdeep Singh.
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