India will take on England in a five-match T20 International series starting Friday at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. While England have named a fairly experienced squad, India have included some newcomers who will be eager to make their debut for the national team. With the T20 World Cup in India later in the year, the hosts will be looking to try out some of the new players as they look to settle their best combination before the marquee event.

Here are the new names in India’s team for the India vs England T20I series:

Suryakumar Yadav

Out of all the players who can potentially make their India debut in the series against England, Suryakumar Yadav is probably the most awaited one. The Mumbai batsman has been knocking on the door for a few years now and after yet another prolific Indian Premier League (IPL) season for Mumbai Indians, he has finally earned his maiden India call-up.

Yadav has a T20 strike rate of 140.10 from 70 matches, scoring 3567 runs. In IPL 2020, he smashed 480 runs at a strike rate of 145.01 to help Mumbai Indians win their fifth title. While he plays at No.3 for MI, captain Virat Kohli occupies that slot in the national team, so Yadav may come in at no.4.

Ishan Kishan

Another Mumbai Indians player who has created a lot of buzz but not got a call-up before this is Ishan Kishan. The left-handed wicketkeeper-batsman had a great season as he piled on the runs in the middle order and as an opener, when he played up top in place of an injured Rohit Sharma. He was the champions’ highest run-scorer, as he amassed 516 runs at an average of 57.33 and a strike rate of 145.76 in what was his best season in the IPL yet.

However, he will face strong competition for a place in the side, especially with fellow left-handed wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant recalled to the team in addition to KL Rahul, who had taken up the gloves in Pant’s absence.

Rahul Tewatia

The all-rounder burst into stardom during IPL 2020 with a dramatic knock against Punjab Kings for Rajasthan Royals. Denied strike by his batting partner Sanju Samson at one point of the chase due to his inability to connect with the ball on the day, Tewatia went from villain to hero as he smashed five sixes in an over against Sheldon Cottrell to help the Royals pull off the highest chase in IPL 2020.

Tewatia also displayed great fielding skills as well as guile with his leg-spin bowling and will now be looking to make the most of his maiden national call-up.

Varun Chakravarthy

Promoted

The Kolkata Knight Riders mystery spinner missed out on India’s tour of Australia with an injury, but will get another chance against England. In a turbulent season that saw KKR just miss out on the knockout stages, Chakravarthy was one of the bright spots as opposition teams were often unable to decode his spin bowling.

He picked up his dream wicket of MS Dhoni during the tournament and also recorded the best bowling figures of IPL 2020 with his 5/20 against eventual finalists Delhi Capitals. While he faces tough competition from several skilled spinners, with five matches to be played, he can be hopeful of getting a few games.