There is no time to rest for England and India as they kick-off a five-match T20I series on Wednesday evening.
It's been a tumultuous week for both cricketing boards; English cricket left reeling following the retirement of Test skipper Ben Stokes and India rocked by a first-ever series loss to relative minnows Ireland.
Unfortunately, neither side will be afforded the time to go back and take stock of those events with a feast of eight white-ball matches pencilled in across the next 18 days.
On Wednesday, Brendon McCullum stated his intention to continue as England head coach and it might just be his side's performances in the format that is saving his job. Therefore, this series is of paramount importance to the Kiwi.
England and India last met in the T20 World Cup semi-final where the latter edged a thrilling encounter before lifting the trophy for the very first time on home soil.
However, things have changed. Suryakumar Yadav is no longer in the squad, never mind as captain and there is the fascinating addition of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
The supremely talented youngster is yet to be handed his international debut but after back-to-back losses against Ireland, they could be tempted to roll the dice and bat him alongside Abhishek Sharma at the top of the order.
Sooryavanshi is arguably the best T20 opening bat in the world and his full range of skills were on display in the IPL where he finished as the leading run-scorer, amassing 776 runs whilst striking at 237.31.
Spinner Varun Chakravarthy is also in the mix for selection and is likely to get a game at Durham. It's a difficult call but he is likely replace Prince Yadav in the lineup for the opening game.
Newly-appointed captain Shreyas Iyer is already under pressure after series defeat to Ireland and he will split Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma in the batting order.
Fortunately for Iyer, his opposite number Harry Brook arrives here attracting every bit as much spotlight.
The Yorkshireman is in pole position to take the Test captaincy reins from Stokes but it remains to be seen whether he will lead England in all three formats. Despite reservations around his capacity to captain his country, the 25-year-old did a fairly good job of it in India over the winter and the T20 side is very much the best performing England side at present.
Phil Salt and Jos Buttler are almost certain to open up, with Brook, Jacob Bethell and Tom Banton providing the remaining top-order firepower.
Sonny Baker is pushing Saqib Mahmood and Luke Wood for a gig with the ball but no one will displace veteran leg-spinner Adil Rashid who requires three wickets to move up to number two on the all-time T20I wicket-takers list.
It does, however, look as if Jofra Archer will sit out after playing back-to-back Tests against New Zealand.
England v India match info
Match | England v India |
Competition | Five-match T20I series |
Venue | Riverside Ground |
Date | Wednesday 1st July |
Kick-off time | 17:30 BST |
Odds |
England v India - 1st T20I odds
(Odds will display when market is available)
Predicted England XI
Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (WK), Harry Brook (C), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Will Jacks, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Luke Wood, Sonny Baker, Adil Rashid.
Predicted India XI
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (WK), Shreyas Iyer, Tilak Varma, Suryansh Shedge, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy.
