Wasim Jaffer picks India's playing 11 for 1st T20I vs ENG, leaves out Umran Malik

Wasim Jaffer has picked Avesh Khan over Umran Malik for India's first T20I against England, which will be played at the Rose Bowl on Thursday (July 7).

A few first-choice players, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and Rishabh Pant won't be available for selection for this match and will be back for the second T20I. India will be boosted by the return of Rohit Sharma, who missed the Edgbaston Test that the visitors lost by seven wickets.

Umran, after enjoying a superb run of form in IPL 2022, made his debut in the two-T20I series against Ireland. The right-arm pacer bowled five overs and could only pick up a solitary wicket at an expensive economy rate of 11.20. Avesh, on the other hand, played six straight T20Is before being rested for the second match against Ireland

Speaking on ESPNcricinfo, Jaffer picked his best 11 for the first match. He said:

"I'll open with Rohit Sharma, who is coming back and will captain; then Ishan Kishan, who is in really good form, Deepak Hooda, again in very good form, Suryakumar Yadav at No. 4, Hardik Pandya No. 5, Dinesh Karthik No. 6, Harshal Patel No. 7, Ravi Bishnoi, Yuzvendra Chahal and then two fast-bowlers."

Jaffer added:

"I'll definitely play Bhuvneshwar Kumar. I will also go with Avesh Khan because he was rested. I think Avesh will play and Harshal will play as an all-rounder."

While Umran is a young, all-out pace bowler who is working towards being more consistent with his lines and lengths, Avesh is 5-7 kmph slower but has the skills to bowl at any stage of the match.

"Now India needs to play its best 11" - Wasim Jaffer

Explaining his choice of Avesh over Umran, Jaffer said there aren't many T20Is left between now and the 2022 T20 World Cup. He added that India can't afford too much experimentation and should stick to playing their best 11 as much as possible. He said:

"I think now India needs to play its best 11 because you won't get to play a lot of T20s and need to settle on a team combination. Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel and Bhuvneshwar Kumar - I think these three fast-bowlers are the best option."

The first T20I between the two sides will kick off at 10:30 pm IST on Thursday. The next two matches will be played on Saturday and Sunday.