As India gears up for the five-match T20I series against England, former Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara feels the team management is unlikely to make any major changes to the batting order that brought victory in the 2026 T20 World Cup earlier this year.
The five-match T20I series opener will be played on July 1 at Chester-le-Street, and Pujara predicted that the Men in Blue are expected to continue with Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson as openers, while Ishan Kishan is likely to keep his place at No. 3.
The trio played an important role in India's title-winning campaign last year. Sanju Samson enjoyed a dream tournament and finished as the highest-performing batter for India. Ishan Kishan also made valuable contributions throughout the competition.
Abhishek Sharma also delivered when it mattered the most, playing a crucial knock in the World Cup final against New Zealand. Before the England tour, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma dominate ICC ODI rankings.
There has been some discussion about whether India will continue with both Samson and Kishan in the same playing XI because both are wicketkeepers. However, Pujara believes that their recent performances have made it difficult to leave them out of the playing XI.
Cheteshwar Pujara said on Star Sports: “I don't see any changes in India's top three of Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, and Ishan Kishan. Both Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan will be part of the opening XI for sure.”
Cheteshwar Pujara hails Tilak Varma's versatility and talks on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's chances
Pujara also feels teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi could get an opportunity on the England tour when India rotates the players. He added, “When India rotate their players, Vaibhav Suryavanshi will certainly feature in at least one match.”
The former Test batter also backed Tilak Varma because the left-hander offers flexibility to the team. Pujara explained, “According to me, Tilak is a batter who can surely bat in the top three, but at the same time, he has shown that he can bat at No. 5 and 6 as well.”
Speaking about the bowling attack, Pujara believes that the mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy remains the Men in Blue's leading spin option in T20Is. However, with Varun currently recovering from a foot injury and unavailable, Pujara feels Washington Sundar might get the chance.
Pujara signed off by saying, “With the options that India has, like Axar Patel and then Varun Chakravarthy, who is not an all-rounder, he will be the first choice if India wants to play just one spinner. Washington might get a chance being an off-spinner and all-rounder when there are more left-handers.”
India set for historic first-ever T20I match in Belfast
Notably, the Indian cricket team will play a T20I match in Belfast for the first time. The last time India played in Belfast was back in 2007, when they featured in three ODI matches against South Africa and one ODI against Ireland.
PC: Twitter/XIn recent years, India has played all their Ireland matches in Dublin. They played two T20Is each in 2018, 2022, and 2023, winning all six matches and maintaining a perfect record there.
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