Openers are the only ones with a fixed slot in the Indian T20 line-up and the batting order that follows will be made up of "multiple floaters", new vice-captain Axar Patel said on Monday while spelling out the team's strategy ahead the five-match series against England.

India will operate with a flexible middle order during the five-match T20 series against England, all-rounder Axar Patel said on Monday.

India, who won last year's T20 World Cup, have tended to pack their batting lineup with "floaters" such as Axar, who has been made vice-captain of the side.

The series is set to kick off in Kolkata on Wednesday, with Chennai, Rajkot, Pune and Mumbai to host the remaining T20Is. In recent years, India have used Axar to good effect as a

India's vice-captain Axar Patel has suggested that apart from the opening pair, everyone in the batting line-up can have flexible roles in the T20I format. He made the remarks ahead of the five-match series against England.