India were forced to make two changes to the playing XI for the fourth T20I against England at the County Ground in Bristol. Captain Shreyas Iyer confirmed that Varun Chakaravarthy and Harshit Rana have been ruled out of the match due to injuries, with Washington Sundar and Prasidh Krishna replacing them in the playing XI. It is also believed that the duo will miss the fifth T20I as well.ย ย
“We’ve got two changes, two injuries actually. Varun and Harshit go out, so Washington and Prasidh comeย in,” Shreyas said.ย
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), in the meantime, hasnโt shared details of the injuries suffered by Varun and Harshit. However, changes were expected in the XI after being bundled for just 76 runs in the third match of the series. With Washington coming into the side, the batting unit has extended further, which is something that the management prefers these days.
India opt to bat first
India have won the toss and elected to bat first. The surface looks terrific, as England captain Harry Brook said, confirming that they would have preferred to bat first as well. โYeah, we would have won the toss and batted. Looks a very good surface. Like Shreyas said, there’s a nice even spread of grass, so we’ll see how it plays,โ Brook said after the toss.
Still no Sanju Samson
Despite flopping miserably with the bat in the last couple of games, India have not changed the unit. Tilak Varma has struggled to live up to the potential so far in the five-match series and there was an opportunity for the team management to bring in Sanju Samson in the middle order, but they chose against it.ย
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who made his debut earlier in the series, is yet to explode in international cricket. He has shown glimpses of promise, but hasnโt been able to deliver. Abhishek Sharma has been a force to reckon with, though. The Indian fans will hope Ishan Kishan and Shryas join the party soon as another defeat could seal the series in Englandโs favour. If that happens, India will suffer back-to-back series defeats in T20Is, for the first time in seven years.ย
England (Playing XI): Philip Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Harry Brook (c), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Josh Tongue
India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Prince Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna