The Men in Blue have a packed schedule ahead of the upcoming T20I World Cup in Australia. All the Indian players are playing in the Indian Premier League, which will be concluded at the end of May. Then India will host South Africa for five matches. After that, the Indian team will fly to the UK for six white-ball matches and one postponed test from last year. Both teams will play one Test, three ODIs and three T20I matches on the tour.
But the England and Wales Cricket Board has arranged two warm-up matches for the Rohit-led team. India will play two matches against Northamptonshire and Derbyshire, scheduled on July 1 and 3, respectively.
Interestingly, one of the Pakistani players will also play during those warm-up matches. In the first warm-up match, Pakistani opener Shan Masood, who was in the test squad against Australia, will play against India. The left-hander will represent Derbyshire Cricket Club. He is expected to get the game for Derbyshire. Masood made his debut last week, and in his debut match he impressed everyone with his gusty knock. The left-hander scored a brisk 91 runs in his debut match, but fell nine runs short of a well-deserved century.
In a press release by the Derbyshire Cricket Club, they have confirmed the fixture and the venue for the match. The DCC confirmed that the Indian team will play a warm-up match at the Incora County Ground on Friday, July 1. The club also confirmed that the match will also feature Shan Masood and Suranga Lakmal. The club mentioned, “The match will include Pakistan international Shan Masood and former Sri Lanka fast bowler, Suranga Lakmal.”
As per the media reports, Shan Masood will play the game against India. Given the schedule of Pakistan, there is no match in the first half of July. The Men in Green will fly to the Netherlands for a three-match ODI series at the end of July. Then they will tour Sri Lanka in August for three ODIs and two Test matches.