England vs India: India's predicted XI against England in the first T20I

The Indian team had some really good practice against minnows, Ireland before a long and difficult series against England at their own backyard. India were clinical against a toothless Ireland and dominated them in all aspects of the game. Other than Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni, all the batsmen were among the runs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the only one who ended the series wicketless but one can expect him to deliver the goods against England.

The series between India and England will have a lot of contests inside the actual contest. On one side, England's lethal opening combination comprising of Jason Roy and Jos Buttler will look to swat aside the Indian bowlers and on the other side, we have the most consistent opening combo of the present world in Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. The series will also witness 2 of the Fab Four, Joe Root and Virat Kohli going head-to-head.

Here we look at India's likely playing XI against England.

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Openers- Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan

Rohit Sharma is one of the best and most destructive batsmen in the present world. He has the ability to take the game away from the opposition at any given time. The Hitman has scored 2 centuries in T20I cricket and narrowly missed out on a century against Ireland in the first match.

He has a fantastic record in T20Is as he has scored 1949 runs in 74 innings at an average of 36. All his runs have come at a great strike rate of 130. He will look to demolish the English attack on what could be a batting beauty.

Shikhar Dhawan isn't the same batsman as Rohit Sharma but he will come into the match with a rich vein of form. He has had a bumper year having scored runs against South Africa, in the Nidahas Trophy and in the IPL. He also scored a fifty against Ireland just before heading to England and that would have boosted his confidence.

He has scored 958 runs in 37 matches at an average of 28.17 in T20I's and those runs have come at a very good strike rate of 131. He can destroy the game for any opposition if he can stay at the crease for about 9-10 overs.

The way they bat in the first few overs could make or break the game for India. Both these batsmen, along with Virat Kohli will be key to India's chances of winning the first match of a long tour comprising of 11 matches.

Middle Order- Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Suresh Raina

KL Rahul and Suresh Raina will look to cement their place in the team

Virat Kohli is unarguably the best batsman in the modern world and will go down as one of the best to have graced the game. He can single-handedly win matches for his team. The Indian skipper had a pretty good season with the bat in this year's IPL and will look to carry that form into this series.

Although he couldn't get going against Ireland, it is just the matter of time before he goes big. He has scored 1992 runs in 55 innings at an average of 49 and a strike rate of 137.

KL Rahul is one of the most elegant players you can find on this planet. He has been in phenomenal form this year having scored more than 600 runs in this season's IPL and also scored a majestic 70 against Ireland. He can play the role of an anchor or be the aggressor in a partnership. The KXIP batsman has scored 570 runs in 14 innings at an average of 48 in T20Is. His runs have come at a blistering strike rate of 151.

Suresh Raina was recalled to the national side for the series against South Africa but wasn't able to create a whole lot of impact in that series and the one that followed, the Nidahas Trophy. He was given another chance to prove himself in national colours against Ireland and England courtesy his good form in this year's IPL. He proved himself against Ireland as he scored a stroke-filled 69. He has scored 1578 runs in 65 innings at an average of 29 and they have come at a strike rate of 135.

Lower Middle Order- MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya

MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni seems to have found a new lease of life and was seen in superb form during this year's IPL. He scored more than 400 runs at a strike rate in excess of 160. The legendary wicket-keeper batsman will look to put up a strong showing in English conditions. he has scored 1455 runs in 79 innings for India in T20I's at a strike rate of 127. Although that strike rate isn't very impressive, he has been in brilliant form and we can definitely expect him to score runs at a very impressive strike rate.

Hardik Pandya has proved himself as one of the best all-rounders in the world. His big hitting abilities, combined with his wicket-taking skills, make him a prized asset for India. He has released a lot of pressure from MSD's shoulders as he has been fulfilling the role of a finisher.

He has scored his runs at a strike rate of 148 in T20I's and has picked up 27 wickets in 32 matches at an economy rate of 7.96.

Bowlers- Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Siddarth Kaul and Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal

Bhuvneshwar Kumar hasn't been in the best of form of late having picked up only 9 wickets in this year's IPL and a wicketless spell against Ireland. However, one can expect him to put his best foot forward against a difficult English batting line-up. The swing king has picked up 28 wickets in 27 matches while conceding runs at a meagre economy rate of 6.6. One can expect a solid showing from Bhuvi as the conditions in England will suit his style of bowling.

Kuldeep Yadav has been one of the latest sensations in the modern game. He is a chinaman bowler, a type of bowler seen very rarely. He has formed one half of India's new spin combo. He has deceived batsmen with his bowling and has been outstanding for India.

He picked up 7 wickets in the 2 match series against Ireland. He has picked up 19 wickets in 10 matches at an economy rate 7.3.

Siddarth Kaul has had a fantastic last 2 years. He was nowhere close to a spot in the SRH team during the 2016 season but was one of their best players in 2017. He carried that form into 2018 and as a result, earned a call-up to the Indian team.

He was excellent on his International debut against Ireland with figures of 1/4 from 2 overs. He could get the nod ahead of Umesh Yadav due to his ability to bowl at the death whereas, Umesh wasn't trusted with the ball at the death for RCB by Virat Kohli.

Yuzvendra Chahal has formed a lethal spin combo along with Kuldeep Yadav and has been brilliant with his leg spin. He will head into the series with a lot of confidence as he picked up 6 wickets in 2 matches against Ireland.

The former Mumbai Indians player has picked up 41 wickets for India in just 23 matches at an economy rate of 7.87. In his recent most outing against England, he picked up 6 wickets and will look to replicate those performances, come the 3rd of July.