India vs England 2025, 1st ODI: India's strongest predicted playing 11 against England

Hosts India (IND) and England (ENG) will lock horns in the first ODI of the three-match series, starting on Wednesday, February 6, at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, in Nagpur. After registering an emphatic T20I series win by a 4-1 margin under the leadership of Suryakumar Yadav, the Men in Blue are all set to feature in the game's 50-over format.

Ahead of the white-ball series, the Men's Selection Committee announced a 15-member squad that would feature in the England series and the Champions Trophy 2025 in Dubai. The board had announced that ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah will not be available for the first two games, and Harshit Rana will be part of the squad in his absence. However, two days before the series, the governing body announced the addition of mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy. Bumrah who is recovering from a back injury is expected to be at the NCA, Bengaluru to regain full fitness before heading to the prestigious tournament. 

Notably, India will play three ODIs in the cities of Nagpur, Cuttack, and Ahmedabad, respectively. Hence, they will aim to field their strongest playing XI to edge past the visitors on their home soil in the series opener

Here's India's Predicted XI against England:

Openers: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill

India will once again witness, Skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill opening the innings. The duo who have been opening together for the past two years, have stitched some incredible partnerships along the way.

While both Rohit and Shubman had an underwhelming Test series against Australia, they were looking to put their past performances behind them and take on the new challenge in front of them. The duo have opened in 25 ODIs and scored 1,732 runs together.

Middle Order: Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul

After openers, the middle-order will have the job of adding those crucial runs to the scorecard. The main crux of India's batting line-up will feature, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, and KL Rahul. The trio has been successful in anchoring the innings in the past few years, which has helped the Men in Blue significantly. In the ODI World Cup 2023, one of the key reasons for India having such a brilliant campaign was the form of these three batters.

While Kohli had a poor tour of Australia, KL, on the other hand, impressed everyone with his class, batting at the top with Yashasvi Jaiswal. Meanwhile, Shreyas last played for India in the Sri Lanka tour in 2024, and ever since has been playing the domestic tournaments. The England series will be a crucial preparatory platform for the Champions Trophy 2025.

All-rounders: Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel

Hardik Pandya has been a valuable player of Indian cricket for several years, particularly in white-ball cricket, and has regularly contributed to the team’s victory with bat, ball, and also his outstanding fielding. The Gujarat-born in the recent T20I series displayed his brilliance, which eventually helped India win the series comfortably. Hardik who last played a 50-over game in the ODI World Cup 2023, will be excited to contribute in whichever capacity. The 31-year-old will be expected to bowl with the new ball in Jasprit Bumrah's absence.

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Along with Pandya, Axar Patel will be another all-rounder on this side. While the squad, also consists of Ravindra Jadeja, the team might go ahead with Axar, as he is in good touch. The southpaw who was also the vice-captain in the T20Is played a crucial role in India's win. However, there will be talks around the spot as Jadeja too has done well in the recent Ranji Trophy game against Delhi, picking 12 wickets.

Bowlers: Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakravarthy

In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, India's pace attack will be led by Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Shami. The duo who were part of the T20Is will look to shine in this format of the game as well. Arshdeep has been consistently delivering brilliant performances in the shortest format of the game and will look to carry his fine form in the ODIs. Arshdeep has so far played eight one-dayers and picked 12 wickets.

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Partnering Singh in the fast bowling arsenal will be Shami. The 34-year-old who had an exceptional 2023 ODI World Cup, was unfortunately sidelined for one year due to an ankle injury. However, his return has once again brought smiles to Indian fans. In the recent T20I series against England, Shami bagged three wickets in two games. 

India will field a spin bowling option in the form of Kuldeep Yadav. The chinaman was injured and recovering in NCA after the New Zealand Test series, and since then hasn't played an international game. Yadav who has been one of India's most effective spinners in the recent past, will one gain look to dazzle the crowd with his skills.

The last one in this XI will be the new addition to the squad, Varun Chakravarthy. The right-arm spinner has been in fine form since making a comeback to India's T20I squad. In the recent victorious England series, he scalped 14 wickets, which included a five-wicket haul in Rajkot and was also awarded the player of the series.

India’s predicted XI against England for first ODI:

Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy.