India vs England’s second match of the three-match ODI series is set to be played on Sunday, February 9, in Cuttack. All eyes will be on India’s playing XI for this match. Virat Kohli was unable to play in the first game of the series due to an injury. A day before the match, he experienced some discomfort in his knee, which forced captain Rohit Sharma to make a last-minute change to the playing XI. However, after the match, vice-captain Shubman Gill shared good news, stating that Virat Kohli’s injury is not a major concern and that he will be available for the second ODI. With Kohli’s return, the big question now is—who will be left out of the playing XI?

During the Nagpur ODI, when it was revealed that Virat Kohli was not playing, everyone assumed that Yashasvi Jaiswal had been given a chance in his place. However, after the match, Shreyas Iyer disclosed that it was actually he who replaced Kohli in the playing XI after Kohli was ruled out due to injury. This indicates that Jaiswal was originally set to make his ODI debut regardless.

Shreyas Iyer seized this opportunity with both hands and played a match-winning knock at No. 4. He came in to bat when India had lost two wickets for just 19 runs. He then played a blistering innings, scoring 59 runs off 36 balls, which included 9 fours and 2 towering sixes. During his innings, he maintained a striking strike rate of 163.89.

On the other hand, Yashasvi Jaiswal couldn’t impress much in his debut, scoring only 15 runs off 22 balls.

The Indian team’s strategy seems to be experimenting with a left-hand-right-hand combination in the batting order. This is why in the first ODI, Axar Patel came in at number 5, ahead of KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya.

As a result, despite performing well in the Nagpur ODI, Shreyas Iyer may lose his place in the playing XI for the second ODI. It’s not that Shreyas Iyer has done anything wrong, but simply that he doesn’t fit into the team combination.