Published: Mar 12, 2021, 06:46 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 12, 2021, 06:46 PM (IST)
At the toss, India skipper Virat Kohli confirmed that opener Rohit Sharma has been rested for the first two matches against England. This was the big takeaway from the toss and it is speculated that the team management wants to manage Rohit’s workload better as he has been playing non-stop cricket since the Australia tour.
Kohli also said that Shikhar Dhawan would be opening the batting with KL Rahul. This would be a big opportunity for Dhawan to get among the runs and give selectors a dilemma ahead of the T20 World Cup.
At the toss, Kohli said he would have also have bowled first as he feels the dew could play a factor later on in the game.
“Probably would have bowled first as well. Dew is going to be a massive factor in the second half. Got to get into the game with the ball and restrict them. We were planning to do things like batting first in these conditions where bowling in the dew becomes a factor. It’s a good way to prepare for the World Cup. The next few months will be important from a team environment. Rohit is resting for the first couple of games,” said Kohli at the toss.
India (Playing XI): KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(w), Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal
England (Playing XI): Jason Roy, Jos Buttler(w), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Eoin Morgan(c), Ben Stokes, Sam Curran, Jofra Archer, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
