Shane Warne wants THIS Delhi Capitals star to bat ahead of Steve Smith in England T20I

England and Australia are all set to compete in a three-match T20I series starting September 4, which will be followed by a three-match ODI series. England will take on Australia in the first T20I on Friday at The Rose Bowl in Southampton. While England have been on the road for the last couple of months courtesy their fixtures against West Indies and Pakistan, Australia will be returning from the COVID-19 induced hiatus to play their first international game in more than five months.

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England vs Australia 2020: Shane Warne wants Marcus Stoinis to bat over Steve Smith

Both England and Australia have full strength squads with some big names along with youngsters, who will be raring to make a mark. It would be interesting to see Australia's playing XI in their first international game post the break. Meanwhile, former Australia spinner Shane Warne has chosen his playing XI for the first T20I between England and Australia.

Shane Warne took to Twitter and named his playing XI. Shane Warne named Aaron Finch and David Warner as openers of the team, which was a no brainer considering the staggering record they have at the top. At No.3 though, Shane Warne, to many cricket enthusiasts' surprise, picked Marcus Stoinis. The No.3 position is usually occupied by Steve Smith, however, the former leg-spinner decided to shift the dynamic batsman to No.4, where he bats in Test cricket otherwise.

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Marcus Stoinis' incredible form of late could be a reason behind Shane Warne promoting him over Steve Smith. In the middle-order, Shane Warne named attacking batsman, Glenn Maxwell, wicketkeeper Alex Carey and all-rounder Mitchell Marsh. The legendary spinner included Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Riley Meredith in his pace attack and opted to with Adam Zampa as the solitary specialist spinner in the team. Meredith is considered to be extremely talented, courtesy his Big Bash League performances in the past.

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After the England vs Australia 2020 series ends on September 16, players from both sides will fly to the UAE to play for their respective IPL franchises. While Steve Smith, Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer will represent Rajasthan Royals, Aaron Finch and Adam Zampa will play for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. On the other hand, Marcus Stoinis will play for the Delhi Capitals whereas David Warner will lead the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

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IMAGE COURTESY: SHANE WARNE INSTAGRAM