Toss England chose to bat vs India
The move was greeted phlegmatically by opposition skipper Shubman Gill, who would have bowled first had he not called incorrectly. Either way, both teams will be looking to make hay in this first of three 50-over matches inside six days.
The major change for England comes at the top of the order with Jacob Bethell opening for the first time, alongside Ben Duckett. Josh Tongue completes his set of caps with an ODI debut.
Speaking on Monday in the pre-match press conference, Brendon McCullum, fresh from losing the Test head coach role, announced a strong XI ahead of time as they look to build towards 2027’s World Cup. The onus on correcting a run of five bilateral defeats in seven since 2024 is paramount, particularly now McCullum’s sole focus is towards the white ball set-up.
For India, these matches present an opportunity for short-term relief as much as long-term planning. The 4-0 loss to England in the T20Is followed an embarrassing 2-0 defeat to Ireland. With plenty of experienced heavy hitters back on deck, their duck may finally be broken. Their own recent record of three losses in their last six bilateral series is also due for correction. All of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah return to an India XI in front of an expectant Edgbaston crowd.
The match also marks Jos Buttler’s 200th ODI. He was presented with his cap by former England captain and long-time friend Eoin Morgan, with his family by his side.
England: 1 Ben Duckett, 2 Jacob Bethell, 3 Joe Root, 4 Harry Brook (capt), 5 Jos Buttler (wk), 6 Sam Curran, 7 Will Jacks, 8 Jofra Archer, 9 Liam Dawson, 10 Josh Tongue, 11 Adil Rashid
India: 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shubman Gill (capt), 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Washington Sundar, 6 KL Rahul (wk), 7 Shivam Dube, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Gurnoor Brar, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Prasidh Krishna
