India thrashed England by seven wickets in the opening T20I on Wednesday, January 22, in Kolkata. Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal praised India’s dominant performance, especially considering the absence of several senior players from the squad.

Kamran Akmal noted that none of the players in this Indian team featured in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Referring to it as India’s ‘C’ team, he stressed that England must change their approach to win upcoming matches.

“In my view, there’s no Kuldeep, no Jaiswal, none of the players who featured in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. This, to me, feels like India’s ‘C’ team. Just imagine what the line-up will look like when the ‘A’ team takes the field. Any opposition will have to put in a massive effort to beat this Indian side. That’s why England need to approach the challenge differently. They will need to show respect not only for the Indian team but also for the playing conditions,” he said.

“Giving backup players a chance to play against smaller teams is an effective strategy. It helps boost their confidence, especially in T20 cricket. If you look at India’s performance in white-ball cricket, where have they failed? Which team hasn’t had a tough time against them? For instance, they won 4-1 in South Africa. Meanwhile, we (Pakistan) lost to them in T20Is. But that wasn’t even India’s first-choice team—it was their C team. This ‘C’ team is performing as if it were the main team, with every player stepping up,” the former cricketer remarked.

“You can see the maturity, the game awareness, and the clarity in their play. Take Abhishek Sharma, for example, or Sanju Samson’s performances. Suryakumar Yadav had a rough patch in a few matches, but then Tilak Verma came in and established himself in the team. Look at Rinku Singh’s impact as well,” he added.

“Since Gautam Gambhir joined, Varun Chakravarthy has become a consistent part of the team. He’s a completely different bowler now, especially after his comeback post the 2021 World Cup. He’s become a real match-winner, and opposition players just can’t seem to figure out how to handle him,” he said in the video.

Varun Chakravarthy was named Player of the Match in the first T20I for his outstanding bowling performance. The spinner claimed 3 wickets for 23 runs from his four overs, including the key scalps of Jos Buttler, Harry Brook, and Liam Livingstone.