India will take on defending champions England in their sixth World Cup match in Lucknow’s Ekana Stadium on October 29. India have been in ruthless form in the World Cup 2023, winning all their five matches. They defeated New Zealand by four wickets in the previous match in Dharamsala. India made a couple of changes to the playing XI against New Zealand and brought in Suryakumar Yadav and Mohammed Shami in place of Hardik Pandya and Shardul Thakur respectively.
Hardik was ruled out of the match after suffering an ankle injury against Bangladesh. The all-rounder, who is recovering at the NCA in Bengaluru is likely to get fit for the crucial clash. A fit Hardik automatically comes back into the playing XI. Suryakumar Yadav failed to make an impact against New Zealand and was run-out for two. He should make way for Hardik Pandya against England.
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Ideally, India need a bowling all-rounder at No.8 but Mohammed Shami’s five-wicket haul against New Zealand has put Rohit Sharma in a sweet dilemma. It will be hard for the Men in Blue to drop Mohammed Shami after a match-winning spell. India would ideally want a Shardul Thakur or R Ashwin into the playing XI at no.8. Ashwin, especially, will be considered given the sluggish conditions in Lucknow.
However, Shami’s form might just force Rohit Sharma to go in with five specialist bowlers, with Shami retaining his place. This would, however, mean that India will have to compromise on the batting depth. It’s a tough call but given that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are in such great form, India might just be okay with a longer tail.
Shreyas Iyer has not been at his best in the World Cup so far, but he is likely to retain his place in the playing XI. The rest of the team remains the same.
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India’s Likely Playing XI vs England: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj.
