Toss India won the toss and chose to bat first vs England
Captain Rohit Sharma, making his return to competitive cricket after recovering from Covid-19, said: “Looks like a good pitch and the sun is out, so we thought the best thing is to bat first. I’ve recovered pretty well and have had a couple of hits so I’m looking forward to the game.”
India’s team was largely as expected, with none from the side that played in the rescheduled fifth Test at Edgbaston involved. Ishan Kishan will open the batting alongside Rohit, while Deepak Hooda is expected at No. 3 after his hundred in Ireland last month.
England’s bowling attack includes three left-arm seamers in Sam Curran, Reece Topley and Tymal Mills – who plays despite stitches in his right big toe on Wednesday – while Chris Jordan is retained at No. 8. Matt Parkinson is their main spinner, with Adil Rashid making the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, and will be supplemented by Liam Livingstone and Moeen Ali.
Jos Buttler is playing his first game since his appointment as England’s full-time limited-overs captain, having previously led in 14 white-ball games. Morgan, his predecessor, is part of Sky Sports’ commentary team.
England: 1 Jason Roy, 2 Jos Buttler (capt/wk), 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Liam Livingstone, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Moeen Ali, 7 Sam Curran, 8 Chris Jordan, 9 Tymal Mills, 10 Reece Topley, 11 Matt Parkinson
India: 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Ishan Kishan, 3 Deepak Hooda, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Axar Patel, 8 Harshal Patel, 9 Bhuvneshar Kumar, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal