Key Points
Phil Salt to keep wicket and open batting with Ben Duckett
Jos Buttler leads at number three
Jofra Archer and Mark Wood spearhead pace attack
McCullum transitions from Bazball to white-ball cricket
Phil Salt, who rose to prominence for his exploits during the 2024 IPL season, will keep wicket and open the batting along with Nottinghamshire's Ben Duckett. Captain Jos Buttler will bat at three while Jofra Archer and Mark Wood will lead the pace attack.
McCullum, the promoter of Bazball cricket in the longest format of the game, steps into white-ball cricket with the five-match T20I series followed by three ODIs against India and leading up to the Champions Trophy in Pakistan and Dubai in February-March.
India, on the other hand, yet to announce their playing XI, have named a 15-member squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series.
India spearhead Mohammad Shami returns to the national team following an ankle injury needing surgery that kept him out of action for nearly a year. Wicketkeeper batter Sanju Samson has retained his place in the side after an excellent performance during India’s tour of South Africa.
Nitesh Kumar Reddy has also been named in the squad after his impressive performances in the 2024-25 Border Gavaskar Trophy series.
McCullum's England will start with the first T20I at Kolkata on Wednesday before travelling to Chennai (Jan 25), Rajkot (Jan 28), Pune (Jan 31), and Mumbai (Feb 2) for the remaining four T20Is.
The ODIs will be played at Nagpur (Feb 6), Cuttack (Feb 9) and Ahmedabad (Feb 12). England will later fly to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy.
England's XI for first T20I: Ben Duckett, Phil Salt (WK), Jos Buttler (C), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson , Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
