India's Likely XI for 2nd ODI 2025 vs England: What will India's playing XI look like for the Cuttack ODI if Virat Kohli is fit? Fans were left surprised after they did not find Virat Kohli to be part of India's playing XI for the ODI series opener against England. An official update from captain Rohit Sharma and later, from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) revealed that the star batter had a sore knee, making him sit out of the match. Yashasvi Jaiswal made his ODI debut and opened the innings alongside Rohit Sharma while Shubman Gill, the vice-captain, dropped to Virat Kohli's number three spot. While all would have expected to see Yashasvi Jaiswal sit out if Virat Kohli was fit, Shreyas Iyer left everyone stunned when he revealed that he was not supposed to play if the star batter was part of India's playing XI in Nagpur. Virat Kohli Injury Update: India Batter’s Knee Issue Appears Minor, Likely To Play IND vs ENG 2nd ODI 2025.

That begs the question--who will sit out of India's playing XI if Virat Kohli is fit and ready to play in the IND vs ENG 2nd ODI 2025? The team management's decision is going to be all the more interesting now that Shreyas Iyer played a brilliant 59-run knock off 36 deliveries which came in a situation when India were in a spot of bother. His counter-attacking innings set the tone for India to win and win comfortably, with more than 10 overs remaining. In this article, we shall take a look at what India's playing XI for the IND vs ENG 2nd ODI 2025 might look like, assuming Virat Kohli was fit and included in the team. Shreyas Iyer Makes Startling Revelation After Scoring 59 in IND vs ENG 1st ODI 2025, Says He Wasn't Supposed To Play if Virat Kohli Was Fit.

Top-Order: This is where all the attention would go in terms of team changes for the IND vs ENG 2nd ODI 2025. If Virat Kohli is fit, it is certain that he will bat at number three, a position he has made his own through his performances across all these years. In that case, will vice-captain Shubman Gill move back to the opening slot alongside skipper Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal sits out? Or will Shubman Gill drop down to number four and replace Shreyas Iyer as it was originally supposed to be as revealed by the latter? That would be extremely tough, given Shreyas Iyer's superb show in Nagpur. In any case, the chances of the second option being preferred seems very unlikely and Virat Kohli's inclusion might mean Yashasvi Jaiswal will have to wait for his second ODI appearance.

Middle-Order: Shreyas Iyer, following his superb performance in the IND vs ENG 1st ODI at number four, becomes an automatic choice for that position. The right-hander had a stellar 2023 ODI World Cup campaign while batting at number four for India and it might not be wise to have him removed from that spot. Axar Patel, much like he did in the IND vs ENG 1st ODI, might bat at number five to make sure that there's a left-hander in India's top five. KL Rahul, after a good day behind the stumps, will be retained as India's wicketkeeper.

All-Rounders: Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja will be the three all-rounders for India in the IND vs ENG 2nd ODI 2025. All three have time and again proven how important their all-round skills are and it was on show in Nagpur where Axar Patel got the big wicket of Jos Buttler and then scored a half-century, Ravindra Jadeja took three wickets and helped India cross the line with Hardik Pandya. India Beat England by Four Wickets in IND vs ENG 1st ODI 2025; Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Bowlers Deliver Clinical Performance as Men in Blue Take 1–0 Series Lead.

Bowlers: The Indian bowling attack is unlikely to witness any major change in the IND vs ENG 2nd ODI 2025. Mohammed Shami will lead the attack and he will have Harshit Rana as his pace-bowling partner. India will have three spinners once again-Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav.

India's Likely XI for IND vs ENG 2nd ODI 2025 in Cuttack

Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 07, 2025 12:31 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).