India welcomed back senior stars Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah as England won the toss and elected to bat first in the opening One-Day International at Edgbaston on Tuesday, marking the start of India’s preparations for the 2027 ODI World Cup.
Kohli returned to the ODI side after missing the series against Afghanistan due to injury and reached another landmark in his illustrious career by making his 300th ODI appearance. The batting stalwart was last seen in action during IPL 2026, where he played a key role in Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s maiden title-winning campaign.
Bumrah also returned to the 50-over format for the first time since India’s defeat to Australia in the 2023 ODI World Cup final. The pace spearhead had missed India’s victorious Champions Trophy 2025 campaign because of injury.
India captain Shubman Gill said the series would serve as the foundation for the team’s World Cup preparations.
“We were looking to bowl first. Most of the boys have played the T20Is, while the others have had a good training block and are ready. This is an important series for us because our preparations for the World Cup start here,” Gill said at the toss.
“We want to try different combinations and give opportunities to players with less experience. Most of the seniors are back, Virat bhai, Rohit bhai and KL. We have good memories here. We’ve gone with four seamers, including Shivam Dube, and two spinners in Washington Sundar and Axar Patel,” he added.
England captain Harry Brook said the hosts opted to bat first after assessing the conditions.
“We’ll have a bat today. It looks like a good wicket. Hopefully, there will be some assistance for the spinners in the second innings. We’ve struggled over the last couple of years, but we believe we have the squad to turn things around,” Brook said.
England fielded Jacob Bethell, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook (captain), Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Jofra Archer, Liam Dawson, Josh Tongue and Adil Rashid.
India’s playing XI comprised Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Gurnoor Brar, Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna.
