Sanju Samson, who was the Player of the T20 World Cup 2026 and enjoyed a good IPL season, has scored 5, 0 and 1 in his last three matches for India. He must be under pressure to perform, especially at a time when 15-year-old wonderkid Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is waiting for his chance.

"I think we need to respect the fact that we had our No.1 batter in T20 cricket, Abhishek Sharma. Sanju was the player of the World Cup. Samson had a great IPL. So, as a coaching staff, it's only fair to show trust and support for your players. Yes, a young man is knocking on the door, and that's exciting," said India bowling coach Morne Morkel.

"But for not just those two players at the top, but for the entire group, it's good that we show our support.

"In a day, it's about putting performances on the board. That is the key. But we also don't want to think too much and put other players in different positions. So, it's not as simple as just saying, 'Let's play Sooryavanshi.'

"It's about standing by some of the guys who have won World Cups, who have performed well in tough situations, and then building from there to strengthen our top order as much as possible in these conditions."

England have already announced their playing XI for the game. They have dropped Saqib Mahmood and Luke Wood, while bringing in Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue.

England (Playing XI): Philip Salt, Jos Buttler (w), Harry Brook (c), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue.

India Squad: Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Harshit Rana, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Suryansh Shedge, Prince Yadav, Washington Sundar, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Prasidh Krishna.

England Squad: Philip Salt, Jos Buttler(w), Harry Brook(c), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue, Luke Wood, Saqib Mahmood, Jordan Cox, James Coles, Rehan Ahmed, Sonny Baker.

The first game of the five-match series was washed out due to rain in Chester-le-Street. India posted 189 for 7 after opting to bat first, but England could not start the chase due to persistent rain. As a result, the match was abandoned.

Hello everyone, welcome to NDTV's live blog for the second T20I between India and England. The match will take place at Old Trafford in Manchester. Stay connected for live scores and updates from the game.