Current India-England Combined T20I XI

All-rounders

Can Dhoni replicate his IPL form in England?

MS Dhoni (WK)

The 36-year-old, on his fourth and possibly final tour of England to play a bilateral series, will hold the key in the middle-order with the likes of Suresh Raina, Kohli and others around him in the line-up.

He will come into this tour on the back of a terrific IPL, where he amassed 455 runs in 16 matches at a strike-rate of 150, the bulk of those runs coming when he batted at the Number 5 position. His wicket-keeping abilities remain unmatched and if indeed this turns out to be his last bilateral tour, he will hope he can finish on a high.

Jos Buttler

The second wicket-keeper in this XI and one who is fighting toe-to-toe with Dhoni for being the best keeper in the white-ball format at the moment. Buttler has been quite remarkable in the shortest format of the game in recent times with his exploits in the IPL for the Rajasthan Royals and also for his country in the recent T20I against Australia, where he smashed a 30-ball 61.

That innings came when Buttler was pushed to open the batting and it won't come as a surprise if he comes out to face the new ball again on Tuesday.

Ben Stokes*

The all-rounder has not been selected in the squad for the T20I series, but if he proves his fitness, there is a possibility he might feature in the third game on the 7th of July at Bristol. Stokes will represent Durham in a Vitality Blast T20 game against Yorkshire on the 5th of July and his participation in the series will depend on how he fares in that game.

If he does return to the game, then it could be a big boost for England ahead of the ODI series which begins from the 12th of July for which he is in the squad.