Why Virat Kohli not playing today: Why is Sanju Samson not playing today’s 1st T20I between England and India in Southampton?

Why is Virat Kohli not playing today: India have made three changes to the Playing XI from their last T20I in Ireland.

During the first T20I of the ongoing India’s tour of England in Southampton, India captain Rohit Sharma has won the toss and chose to bat in his first match after recovering from COVID-19.

“We are gonna bat first. Looks like a good pitch, decent ground to play. Good pitch, sun is out, better thing to bat first. Recovered pretty well, had a couple of hits before getting into this game,” Sharma told Sky Sports at the toss.

Having led England 14 times in white-ball cricket in the past, captain Jos Buttler considered it to be a “proud day” for he is leading them for the first time as a full-time captain.

“Very proud day, captaining your country. Eoin [Morgan] has left the team in a great place The Test team has been fantastic to watch. Hopefully, we can ride that momentum,” Buttler told Sky Sports at the toss.

Why is Virat Kohli not playing vs England today?

Coming on the back of a 2-0 series victory in Ireland, India have made three changes to their Playing XI. While Sharma has come in for batter Sanju Samson, spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and debutant fast bowler Arshdeep Singh have replaced spinner Ravi Bishnoi and fast bowler Umran Malik in the XI.

In spite of scoring 77 (42) in the last match against Ireland, Samson was expected to be benched upon Sharma’s return. As far as former captain Virat Kohli is concerned, he isn’t playing this match because of not being part of an 18-member squad for the first T20I. Readers must note that Kohli and four other multi-format players will be available for the remaining T20Is.

“We know the scheduling, we got to have the understanding, players will be swapped every now and then. You can create your bench strength as well, a lot of opportunities for guys to come out and play,” Sharma added.

England, on the other hand, have left out batter Phil Salt and fast bowlers David Willey and Richard Gleeson from their 14-member squad for the first T20I at The Rose Bowl.