India are ready to take on England in the first ODI to be played at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium in Nagpur. The series is crucial for the Men in Blue as they will be entering the Champions Trophy 2025 directly without playing any warm-up games in the marquee tournament. The Indian team management has announced India’s playing XI against the Jos Buttler-led pack and the team has witnessed the inclusion of opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and pacer Harshit Rana. Virat Kohli couldn’t make it to the 11-member squad as the veteran suffers from knee injury.

Yashasvi’s batting prowess has helped him not only earn a spot in Team India but also a lot of supporters in recent years. The 23-year-old’s fans looked elated after he received his debut ODI cap. In List A cricket, the southpaw has served Mumbai and scored 1511 runs in 32 matches at a strike rate of 86.19. He has also hit five tons and seven fifties. Discussing his recent numbers, he looked amazing with his bat for India in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Notching up 391 runs in 10 innings of five Tests, he ended up as the second-leading run-scorer, following Australia’s Travis Head.

Fans react after Yashasvi Jaiswal recieves debut cap for Nagpur ODI vs England

In Virat’s absence, Jaiswal will be expected to grab the opportunity and reinforce the top order with his batting. Along with his captain Rohit Sharma, he can be given the task to open for the side.

 

   

Harshit Rana’s T20I performance helps him gain his debut ODI cap 

Along with Jaiswal, speedster Harshit Rana has also got the opportunity to make his ODI debut for India. Playing his debut T20I game, Rana guided India to a 15-run victory against England in the fourth match played at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune.  

Mohammed Shami, who last featured in India’s World Cup 2023 squad, is also inducted in the 11-member squad. Ahead of the game, English captain Jos Buttler won the toss and elected to bat first. Rohit, who lost the toss, revealed he would’ve chosen to field first, had he won the toss.