India opt to bowl after winning toss in 1st T20I against England, Shami excluded from playing XI

At the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata, India captain Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and chose to bowl in the opening T20I of the five-match series against England on Wednesday.

With four consecutive series triumphs, India boasts a remarkable record against England in T20I format. Under the leadership of Suryakumar Yadav, the Men in Blue will be keen to lay the foundation of extending their record in Kolkata.

It was expected that Mohammed Shami would return to represent the Indian team after the 2023 ODI World Cup, but he is going to sit on the sidelines for the first game.

After winning the toss, India skipper Suryakumar Yadav said, "We will look to bowl first. The wicket looks sticky, there will be dew later on. It will be heavier later on. The boys have been amazing. The preparations have been good, looking forward to this series. It's going to be a great competition between both sides. A good headache, we want to stick to our strengths."

England captain Jos Buttler said during the time of the toss, "Looks a good wicket, I'm sure it's going to be a good match. There will be some dew around. It's a great ground, it's an honour to play against India in these conditions. Everyone is in a good spot. It's nice to be together, a lot to look forward to. McCullum taking charge, he has a lot of experience. It's going to be a challenge, we are right up for it. There is some incredible talent in both sides. Saqib Mahmood, Brydon Carse, Jamie Smith and Rehan Ahmed will miss out."

India : Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy

England : Ben Duckett, Philip Salt, Jos Buttler, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

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