Will Vaibhav Sooryavanshi finally make his India debut in the 2nd T20I in Manchester? This is the biggest question going into the all-important game.
India haven’t shown any signs of giving Sooryavanshi his debut cap. The 15-year-old prodigy has been on the bench since the Ireland series and continues to wait for his opportunity. On the eve of the game, India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel also backed the opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson. Ahead of the 2nd T20I, here we have a look at India’s likely playing XI and predict whether or not Sooryavanshi will get his opportunity –
Openers
An unchanged opening pair is expected, which means no debut for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. After bagging back-to-back ducks against Ireland, Samson managed to score one run against England. Despite being out of form, Samson is likely to get backed and he will once again open the innings with Abhishek Sharma.
Middle-order
Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer and Tilak Varma will be the fulcrum of India’s middle-order batting. Iyer played a captain’s knock in the series opener and slammed 68 off 47 balls. He is a senior member of the team and has to take the onus to score consistently. Ireland whitewashed Iyer-led India 2-0.
All-rounders
Shivam Dube, Harshit Rana and Axar Patel will be the three all-rounders in the team. Dube’s game has improved manifold since his comeback in 2023 and he has become a perfect replacement for Hardik Pandya. Dube scored a quick unbeaten 42 off just 21 balls in the first T20I. Batting with a strike rate of 200, Dube smashed 3 sixes and 2 fours.
Bowlers
bowling remained untested in the first T20I as the match was washed out after just one innings. There is no reason for India to drop any bowler from their line-up.
India’s likely playing XI for 2nd T20I vs England: Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Harshit Rana, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy