Former spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has chosen his favorite starting XI for the Men in Blue for the first T20I of the five-match series against England. Ravichandran Ashwin said the upcoming series will be a real test for India, adding that it is the first major challenge they face after winning the T20 World Cup in 2024.

Ravichandran Ashwin acknowledged India’s success against Bangladesh and South Africa but added that these series were no match for the Men in Blue. Ashwin said Bangladesh were a weak opponent while South Africa were the second line of attack.

“Bangladesh are a weak team and South Africa are attacking at a slow pace even though their batting is very good,” Ashwin said on ‘Ash Ki Baat’.

“We played against Bangladesh but they were no match for India. I don’t think this series was a match. I don’t think this series should be seen as a true reflection of our quality.”

“They rested a lot of key players against South Africa as well. They rested the bowlers in the Test series and our batsmen profited by scoring big runs,” he added.

India will be tested against quality England side – Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin predicts that the upcoming series against England will be an exciting one. Ashwin highlighted the aggressive batting style of both teams and the pitches suitable for batting. He believes India’s new era of fearless cricket will be put to the test against a high-quality side in England.

“India’s new era of fearless cricket will be put to the test against England at a high level. This series will be a befitting test of our abilities. Bazball vs Skyball will be an exciting match. This series also India’s depth will be tested in the T20Is,” Ashwin said.

“All surfaces are good for batting, with smaller boundaries and higher scores. Both teams have strong batsmen and it will be an interesting series for fans who like aggressive batting.”

Ravichandran Ashwin picked in India’s starting XI for T20I vs England

The Tamil Nadu-born cricketer was named in the Indian starting XI for the first T20I against England at the Eden Gardens. He selected Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma as openers. Ashwin also said that there could be a selection dilemma between Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar.

“Sanju Samson performed brilliantly as opener. Tilak Verma also performed well for South Africa. 1 Let’s see if Surya, Tilak and Sanju can hold up against England’s strong attack A high percentage will be fun,” he said.

“The fielding line-up is pretty simple. It might be a tough decision between Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar but at Eden Gardens, with Dew likely to play a big role, India may Choose Nitish.”

Ashwin’s India XI: Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Shami.

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