There is a new dawn every day in English cricket at the moment. After Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes’ successful takeover in Tests, it is time for Matthew Mott-Jos Buttler era to begin as T20 series begins between India and England.
McCullum and Stokes have taken off the ‘Bazball’ with a bang, with 4 wins in 4 Tests. And all of them while chasing. The last Test vs India was another indication of how far the English team has come since the change in management and leadership in such a short time. Mott, who had a brilliant run with the Australian women’s cricket team, would look to set high benchmarks for the England men’s T20 and ODI sides as well. And he could not have asked for a better leader in Jos Buttler, who by the way is in red hot form himself.
India, hurt from the defeat in 5th Test, would be eyeing a strong comeback, albeit with the white ball. They cannot make up for the loss in 5th Test but can surely do a lot as far as preparation for the T20 World Cup this year is concerned.
A new era begins under Buttler
Although Jos Buttler has captained England before, this is a new start for him and the English white-ball sides. First up are the T20s and along with Mott, Buttler will be hoping to start with a bang, just like the Test side. It will be interesting to see how the English boys play under the new leadership. Under Eoin Morgan, England learned to not just win, but dare and set new benchmarks. However, it is also true that Morgan and Buttler are cut from the same cloth. Both of them have similar aggressive attitude. So, England may not change much as far as their playing style is concerned under the new leadership.
Buttler and Mott together have a chance now to build a new legacy and their time starts now. Buttler’s own form has been terrific. He had a great time in IPL and then took his game to another level during the Netherlands ODIs.
There are some new faces in the England squad. There is Harry Brook, who has played a T20 for England but his best is yet to come. He is a fine player, in all formats. This is a great opportunity against India. A good show against a quality side can guarantee his place. Then there is Richard Gleeson. He is a player who is in form with plenty of wickets in the T20 Blast. In 9 innings he bowled in T20 Blast, he returned wicketless only once, while bowling with a decent economy rate as well.
Not to forget, he has excellent pace and accuracy. As far as bowling is concerned, they have many left-arm bowling options in Sam Curran, Tymal Mills, Reece Topley and David Willey. England will miss Adil Rashid, who has gone for The Hajj. His absence gives a chance to the likes of Matt Parkinson. England also have Liam Livingstone and Moeen Ali as spin options. Livingstone, who has had good rest, will be coming into the series afresh. One more thing, I would also like to see more from Moeen Ali with the bat, maybe bat him higher up the order.
Rohit returns for India
One of the big boosts ahead of the T20s for India is the return of their captain Rohit Sharma. He will be eager to prove a point or two after missing the Edgbaston Test and coming into the T20 series on back of a poor IPL 2022. His form is key as India prepares for the T20 World Cup, with an aim to win their second title.
India have two different T20 squads for the England series. The squad for the 1st T20 is the same as the one which played vs Ireland with Rohit being the only addition. This squad is a good mix youth and experience. The likes of Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rohit provide the experience. Hopefully, India will give chance to those young players who may not feature in the 2nd and 3rd T20 with return of Virat Kohlis and Jasprit Bumrahs.
Not to forget, there is Umran Malik too. He is an exciting talent and would be great to watch him bowl fast in the 1st T20. The England T20s are a great opportunity for the likes of Umran, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Hooda and others in the squad who had terrific IPL.
It is important now to repeat the same success on the world stage and if they pull the right strings against a quality T20 side like England, away from home, it will certainly do well for them in the long run. India have prepared well with 2 T20s vs Ireland and then two warm-ups in England. It it time to be competitive on field now, where it matters the most.
