India will start the brand new yr with a T20I collection towards England at Eden Gardens, which can be their first collection after the embarrassing defeat to Australia within the Border Gavaskar Trophy collection Down Underneath. Earlier than the collection, India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir visited the well-known Kali Temple at Kalighat to wish for his crew’s success. Gambhir has at all times had a particular reference to the town of Kolkata having captained and mentored the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their two Indian Premier League (IPL) titles in 2014 and 2024 respectively. The India head coach was seen taking blessings and praying on the holy temple on the eve of the primary recreation.
The Kalighat Kali Temple in Kolkata is considered the holiest Shaktipeeth of the 51 Shakti Peethas of India, the place the assorted components of Devi Sati’s physique are stated to have fallen, in the midst of Shiva’s Rudra Tandava. Kalighat represents the location the place the toes of the precise foot of Shakti or Sati fell.
VIDEO | Staff India head coach Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) presents prayers at Kalighat Temple, #Kolkata.
India will play towards England within the first match of the T20 collection at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, tomorrow. Starting with the Eden T20I, the 2 groups will battle it out in a… pic.twitter.com/frPanegCyJ
— Press Belief of India (@PTI_News) January 21, 2025
The Suryakumar Yadav-led crew can be bolstered with the return of tempo veteran Mohammed Shami forward of the all-important Champions Trophy, scheduled to start out subsequent month. Shami final performed for India within the ODI World Cup last towards Australia in November 2023. He underwent surgical procedure for a heel damage that dominated him out of the motion until November final yr when he turned up for his state aspect Bengal within the Ranji Trophy.
Then again, pacer Mark Wooden will make his return to the crew for the primary time since August. He’ll be a part of Jofra Archer and Jamie Overton in England’s pace-attack because the guests introduced their taking part in XI for the collection opener on Tuesday.
India and England have confronted one another 24 instances in T20Is, with India holding a slight benefit with 13 wins to England’s 11. Nonetheless, India have received 5 of the final seven T20I encounters between the 2 groups since 2021. Their final T20I conflict occurred within the semifinals of the 2024 ICC Males’s T20 Cricket World Cup, the place India secured a memorable victory.
The collection will start in Kolkata after which transfer to Chennai, Rajkot, Pune, and Mumbai for the remaining matches. The ultimate T20I can be performed on the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on February 2.
Following the T20I collection, the 2 groups will compete in a three-match ODI collection beginning at Nagpur on February 6, which is able to give followers a peek into India’s preparation for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
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