ENG vs IND: No place for Virat Kohli in Zaheer Khan's Indian XI for 2nd, 3rd T20Is

'If at all, one change at most, we have to wait and see what it would be,' said Zaheer.

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Virat Kohli. (Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images/Getty Images)

Former Indian fast bowler Zaheer Khan left out Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja from his playing XI for India’s next two T20Is against England in the ongoing series. He said that apart from Jasprit Bumrah coming in for fast bowler Arshdeep Singh, who is not part of the second and third T20I squads, the team should be unchanged.

Zaheer said while it is hard to figure out how India would like to go in terms of team selection, he feels that the team might go with the same combination since they won the first T20I and would like to keep the winning team in tandem. He also opined that it is not likely for the team to change and risk losing momentum.

I don’t see the possibility of a change: Zaheer Khan

“It is hard to sit and figure out which direction they are going to go in terms of selection,” said Zaheer, speaking to Cricbuzz. “You have seen India win the first match of the series and then not make any changes for the rest of the series. I don’t think they will make any changes. If at all, one change at most, we have to wait and see what it would be,” he added further. 

“I don’t see the possibility of a change and you don’t want to lose momentum. Since Arshdeep is not there for the second T20I, Jasprit Bumrah will take that spot,” added the former India fast bowler. In the first T20I, skipper Rohit Sharma returned to the team after recovering from Covid-19, and opened the innings along with Ishan Kishan.

Deepak Hooda batted at number three followed by Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, and Dinesh Karthik in the batting lineup. Pandya was the top scorer with 51 runs off 33 balls, complemented by Yadav, who scored 39 runs off 19 balls. India put up a winning total of 198 in 20 overs for the loss of eight wickets, as the hosts fell short in their chase by 50 runs.

It was not an ideal day for Jos Buttler in his first assignment as the full-time England captain, as he was dismissed on his first ball. None of the English batters, apart from Moeen Ali, who scored 36 runs off 20 balls, went past the 30-run mark. As a result, the hosts were eventually bowled out for 148. The second T20I is set to be held on July 9, Saturday, in Birmingham.

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