Suryakumar Yaday left the cricket fraternity suprised after winning the toss and choosing to bowl first in the first T20I between India and England at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday (January 22) as he revealed that Mohammed Shami is not in the line-up.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have not mentioned any new injury to Shami and the star pacer was spotted bowling in the warm-up before the match. Shami's absence seems a tactical call as India has opted to play an extra spinner and play just one specialist in Arshdeep Singh. The team have trusted the all-round duo of Hardik Pandya and Nitish Kumar Reddy to carry the load of bowling pace.

Shami's comeback was the biggest talking point ahead of the five-match series but the star pacer will have to wait longer to wear the Indian jersey again. Shami's last appearance for the national team was 430 days in the 2023 Cricket World Cup final after which an Achilles injury followed by a knee issue forced him on the sidelines for almost a year.

Shami's absence from the playing XI will raise questions on whether the 34-year-old is fully fit and a word from the Indian team management is still awaited.

However, it was unlikely that Shami would play all five games as he has a heavy workload over the next month with the ODI series against England as well the 2025 Champions Trophy on the radar. With suspense on Jasprit Bumrah's injury, Shami is likely to have added responsibility on him.

India Playing XI: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Suryakumar Yadav (C), Tilak Verma, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakarvarthy

England Playing XI: Ben Duckett, Philip Salt(WK), Jos Buttler(c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

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