Ireland vs India, 1st T20I: India Predicted XI

Virat Kohli and his band of merry men from India will embark on a tour to the British Isles. However, before facing the Brits in somewhat of an extended tour, the mighty Indians will first face-off against the might of the Irish. While many view this as a preparatory series prior to their facing-off against the might of Joe Root’s England, Indian skipper Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri will be the last ones to take Ireland lightly.

With the recent yo-yo test seeing many being left out of the side,  the visitors’ squad seemingly consist of those players who have impressed quite a bit in the Indian Premier League 2018. An interesting aspect of the ordeal witnesses the selection committee putting their faith in players such as Siddharth Kaul and Umesh Yadav, both of whom were heavily successful in the IPL. In addition, the squad also witnesses the persistence of players such as Manish Pandey and KL Rahul, two players who haven’t been in the best of form in recent times.

One thing that will be clear will be a simple fact that the Indians will certainly not take Ireland lightly, to say the least.

Here is the predicted XI for the Indian side for the 1st T20 international against Ireland:

Openers: Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan

For the last few years, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have been unrelenting when it comes to clamping down the opening slots. In fact, the duo has barely been knocked off their perch when it comes to batting atop the order with little resistance coming from the likes of KL Rahul and sometimes Virat Kohli. The former – KL Rahul has been added to the squad following a fantastic IPL. However, despite this, it is unlikely that the Indian selectors would be willing to tweak the opening combination. In addition, the right-hand; left-hand coordination has worked well for them in the past.

Middle order: Virat Kohli (C), Dinesh Karthik, Suresh Raina

Skipper Virat Kohli will return to the grand scheme of things following a neck injury scare, something that almost saw him missing out on the tour via injury. Suresh Raina may very well be thankful that his CSK teammate Ambati Rayudu failed the yo-yo test and has now seemingly retained his place in the Indian squad.

With Manish Pandey also in the side along with Hardik Pandya and Washington Sundar, Dinesh Karthik is favorite to clamp his place down in the side. The 32-year old did a fantastic job captaining the Knight Riders in the IPL 2018 and his exploits in the Nidahas Trophy have also been taken into consideration. At the moment, Karthik is favorite to keep his place despite the return of MS Dhoni and without the wicketkeeping gloves.

Wicketkeeper: MS Dhoni

In MS Dhoni, the Indians have quite the talisman. In spite of nearing the 37-year old age bar, Dhoni is one of the most integral members of the India side, apart from being one of the fittest. His finishing skills diminishing albeit, his ability to whip off the bails with razor-quick speed makes his one of the few cricketers who simply walk into the side.

All-rounder: Hardik Pandya

When 24-year old Hardik Pandya burst onto the scene a couple of years ago, one thing was immediately clear – the fact that the Indians have finally found their man. Pandya brings in a much-needed balance into the side while being one of the few cricketers around the world who excels and revels in the role he has been bestowed upon with.

Spinners: Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal

With the duo of Ashwin and Jadeja being deployed predominantly in Test cricket these days, the limited-overs’ scene has been taken over by Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. With conditions in both Ireland and England offering very less for the spinners, it is indeed a bonus to have two wrist spinners in the side. Both Kuldeep and Chahal had immense success in South Africa and will be hoping for more of the same in England and Ireland.

Fast bowlers: Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah

At the moment, Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah are the best bowlers in Indian cricket. Period. Moreover, it is also a blessing in disguise that they play across three formats as well. Umesh Yadav might be an option, given the pace at which he bowls, but Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah have been working well in tandem, something that makes them a selection without thinking twice.

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