England vs India, 2018: India's predicted XI for first T20I after Bumrah and Sundar's injury

India castled Ireland to consolidate a 2-0 win at Dublin. The next consignment for the Indian cricket team is in England. India will be touring England for three T20Is, three ODIs, and five Tests.

India's tour of England will commence on 3 July with a T20I match at the Manchester. The India vs England encounter is expected to be a competitive one as both the teams have been in sublime form of late. Considering the current form of England, Indian team face an uphill task ahead as they meet England.

However, Jasprit Bumrah and Washington Sundar's injury has created a much of hush-hush in the Indian camp. The injuries have created a much of void in the team as the Indian team will now need to tinker their playing combination a bit for the 1st T20I against England.

With the T20I series against England just two days away, the Indian team management would be more or less looking forward to churning out the best possible combination of playing XI from their squad.

India's squad for T20I series against England: Virat Kohli(C), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Lokesh Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni (WK), Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Siddarth Kaul, and Umesh Yadav.

Thus, let us look at India's predicted playing XI for the first T20I against England.

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Openers: Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma

CRICKET-IND

Shikhar Dhawan has established himself as the first-choice opener for the Indian team. Being a left-handed batsman, Dhawan adds variety to the Indian batting line-up. He has been in red-hot form and has performed consistently for the Indian team, especially in the limited overs format.

Dhawan has performed exceptionally well in the English conditions in the past. Thus, his experiences from the past would be useful for the Indian team.

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma shot to form at the right time when he scored a stupendous 97 against Ireland in the first T20I. Although he failed to loiter the form in the second T20I, he seems perfectly fit for the opening slot for the T20I series against England.

Once the Hitman gets going, every bowling attack in the world seems futile. Thus, with an important T20I series up-next, the Indian management would not like to meddle with the opening pair and would be going forward with a fabled Rohit-Dhawan pair.

Middle Order: Virat Kohli (C), KL Rahul, and Suresh Raina

KL Rahul and Suresh Raina

Virat Kohli, the skipper of the Indian team, would be looking forward to hitting back to the form with a long tour ahead. In the last two matches, Kohli has batted at the most unusual positions which have been a reason for his rare failures. Thus, Kohli is expected to re-appoint himself the No.3 position for the T20I series against England.

KL Rahul has been in tremendous touch ever since the start of IPL. He has been scoring runs at flashing rate with no jeopardize to his consistency. An example of it was in the previous match against Ireland where he scored 70 runs off just 36 balls. Thus, with the No.4 spot up for the grab, the Indian management is expected to push him in the middle-order and make him settle for the No.4 spot.

Suresh Raina seems to have a perfect comeback to the Indian team. Having batted wonderfully at the No.3 spot, Raina has wonderfully acclimatized to the needs of the Indian team. However, with the addition of KL Rahul, Raina might be shifted to the No.5 slot.

Wicket-keeper: MS Dhoni and All-rounder: Hardik Pandya

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MS Dhoni has sort of been the fish-bone for the critics, as time and again they write him off, MS finds a way to hit back at them with some swashbuckling performances. Well, this has been the timeline of MS Dhoni for past several years. Thus, MS Dhoni's place in the playing XI needs no justification. His IPL performances obviate the need for the vindication.

Hardik Pandya has improved as a bowler and as a batsman. When on song, he can demolish the opposition with his hard-hitting skills. In addition to that, he can chip in with some good slower ones which can dismantle the opposition. Gradually, Pandya has reaped good results for the Indian team. Thus, he is expected to find a place in the playing XI for the first T20I against England.

Spinners: Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal

KulCha

The spin duo, KulCha, has been the lynchpin of the Indian spin department. Kuldeep and Chahal have been complementing each other quite well. Wrist spinners have been an important part of the limited overs setup as they provide stability and add variety to the bowling line-up. Thus, Kuldeep and Chahal are here to stay in the playing XI for the first T20I against England.

Pacers: Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav

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Jasprit Bumrah's injury leaves a massive void in the Indian pace bowling line-up. With Bumrah ruled out of the T20I and ODI series, the onus will be on Bhuvneshwar Kumar to spearhead the bowling line-up for the Indian team. For last one and a half years, Buvneshwar has grown to become one of the best white ball specialists.

With an ability to manoeuvre the ball in either of the directions, Bhuvi will prove to be one of the most important bowlers for the Indian team at the England tour.

With an ability to swing the white cherry in either of the direction and adequate pace on his side, Umesh bears the ability to rattle any opposition apart. Besides, his fast and aggressive action helps him generate extra bounce and awkward seam movement which makes him unplayable at times. Of late, Umesh has also developed a good bouncer which he exercises to surprise the batsman.

Thus, Umesh Yadav, the pace battery, can turn out to be the obvious replacement for Jasprit Bumrah in the playing XI.