ICC World T20: Shardul, Chakravarthy to get a look-in? India's predicted playing XI for warm-up game vs England

Virat Kohli-led Team India will begin their campaign in the seventh edition of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 with their first of the two warm-up encounters, versus Eoin Morgan-led England on Monday (October 18). The one-time winners are starting their campaign versus one of the strongest contenders for the marquee title. Hence, the Men in Blue will be on their toes and eagerto tick some of the boxes in the warm-up encounters before the main draw of the tournament kicks off from October 23.

For the unversed, India played their last T20I -- comprising full-strength side -- versus England in early 2021. Hence, both sides are fully aware of each other's strengths and weaknesses. What will be interesting to see is how the two teams go ahead, in terms of the team combinations, in the warm-up face-off.

For Kohli-led India, they have plenty of questions to answer. In their last game versus England, during the five-match T20Is in India in February-March, KL Rahul didn't open in the series-decider as Kohli-Rohit Sharma came out as openers. Back then, Rahul was in torrid form. Will Kohli continue as an opener despite Rahul's brilliant form in IPL 14's second and final leg in the UAE? Moreover, it will be interesting to see how many spinners get included in the India XI. At present, they have options in the form of Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Rahul Chahar and Varun Chakravarthy. Given the recent form, Varun and Jadeja seem like a certain in the XI. However, Varun's fitness was an issue in the last few games in IPL 2021. Hence, the focus will be on him.

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India also have a veteran and experienced campaigner in Ashwin. However, he was off-colours in the second and final IPL 14 leg. Hence, he might not make it to the first XI so easily. The biggest factor among all will be Hardik Pandya's bowling. Will the all-rounder finally contribute with some overs? He didn't bowl a single over in IPL 14's final leg in the UAE. On the other hand, Shardul Thakur -- one of the most-successful bowlers for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2021 -- is very likely to be in India's XI for their first warm-up fixture.

The team management will also closely monitor Bhuvneshwar Kumar's form, who wasn't at his best for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the just-concluded IPL season. Lastly, Ishan Kishan returned back to form in the last few games for Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 14. Will he get a look-in as well?

India's playing XI for England warm-up tie: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy

If Hardik doesn't plan to bowl, India will have to make way for another pacer; which might also prompt them to drop the 27-year-old.

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Squads

India:Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Varun Chakravarthy, Rahul Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya.

England:Eoin Morgan (capt), Jason Roy, Sam Billings, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Jos Buttler (wk), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Moeen Ali, Tom Curran, Chris Jordan, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Tymal Mills, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.