India's predicted playing XI for 1st ODI vs England

There is no Championship Final that a win in the ODI series will grant to either of England or India. Neither is there, unlike the just-concluded T20I series, the urgency of nailing down a best XI for an upcoming mega-event. Why then, do you ask, will the upcoming ODI series between England and India have any context worth watching for?

For starters, the two are the top-ranked sides in the 50-over format, just like the T20I format, meaning England have their top spot to preserve. India also have a formidable record in home ODI series, having lost just two of them - by a 3-2 margin - in the past eight years. England stride in with the tag of being World Champions in this format, and will collide with the hosts of the next ICC ODI World Cup.

Aside from the format-specific concerns of both sides, there are also a number of questions thrown up by the recent T20I rubber. Not only have India undergone a significant middle order rejig, with Shreyas Iyer moving down from No. 4 to No. 6, they have a problem of plenty with new entrants Suryakumar and Ishan Kishan scoring fifties in their first batting opportunity. Virat Kohli's successful ploy of batting at the top, leading to the most balanced-looking eleven of the five T20Is, throws another possibility into the mix.

Here is India's predicted playing XI for the first ODI against England.

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Openers: Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan

Will KL Rahul make the cut ahead of Shikhar Dhawan?>

Rohit Sharma has had an incredible run of form in all formats, winning India the Test series and the T20I decider most recently. With the opener's slot cemented by him in this format, the bigger question for India is regarding his opening partner.

Unless there is another wildcard decision taken by Kohli and co, the toss-up for the slot is between Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul. On worrying lines, both failed to impress in the T20I series, with the latter getting opportunities in abundance. What edges the call in favour of senior man Dhawan is the left-handed variation he brings to the top order, and his consistency over a long period of time - particularly in large tournaments.

KL Rahul can make the cut by returning to the form he showed both in the IPL and in international limited-overs series prior to the one against England. However, his recent cluelessness against potent pace bowling is likely to keep him out.

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Middle order: Virat Kohli (c), Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer has proved his utility as a middle-order accelerator.

Virat Kohli shrugged off suggestions that he was out of form with three destructive 70-plus scores in the T20I series, two of them ending in Indian victory. The Indian captain demonstrated his ability to play in diverse game situations, whether it be the powerplay or the acceleration phase at the death, and will look to build solid platforms as he is used to doing in this format.

Rishabh Pant added to his growing reputation as India's crisis man with a quickfire innings when the pitch was good, and important thirties on difficult wickets. His ability to counterattack and dig India out of a hole might be well utilised in the ODI format as well, and hence he could move up to No. 4 in the lineup. His increased reliability with the gloves also means KL Rahul has fewer safeguards regarding his position in the side.

Shreyas Iyer was expected to make way for the young guns following an insipid tour of Australia, but he proved his detractors wrong with a one-man show on a tough track, and showed his ability to accelerate at the death. His form with the bat provides India with a smooth transition between their middle and lower-middle order.

All-rounders: Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Shardul Thakur

Hardik Pandya's bowling form is a big bonus for India.

When Hardik Pandya won the Player of the Series award in the T20I rubber against Australia without bowling a ball throughout, it left Indian fans wondering how much value he could add when his bowling was back. The recent T20I series against England saw Hardik often taking the new ball, bowling economically and picking wickets - on one occasion, conceding runs at a miserly economy of four runs an over. At No. 6, his power-hitting and bowling provide crucial balance to the Indian side that looked out of answers in Australia.

Coming off a fine run of form in the Vijay Hazare Trophy captaining his home side Baroda, Krunal Pandya's all-round performances both domestically and in the IPL could make him the ideal No. 7 for India. The toss-up is likely to be between him and Washington Sundar, who has proven himself with the bat in Tests and the ball in the shorter formats, but is yet to excel with both skills in this format.

The final all-rounder at No. 8 is the ever-reliable Shardul Thakur, who often found a way to get India back into the contest in the games he played over the last year or so. His hitting ability has also improved, meaning India has a good bank of runs even if several of their top order batsmen fail on the given day.

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Bowlers: Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, T Natarajan

Yuzvendra Chahal could be persisted with despite being expensive in the preceding series.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar's long-term injury recovery process had left India without a reliably economical bowling option at the top and the death. During the T20I series decider, Bhuvneshwar bowled close to his best, removing the dangerous Jos Buttler to trigger a collapse and conceding just fifteen runs in his quota of four overs. Ten overs from him will surely ensure India chase smaller totals in the ODI series.

With Jasprit Bumrah still on personal leave, left-arm quick T Natarajan should be a shoo-in to the XI, particularly with the pace-bowling reserves of Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj being either inexperienced or unimpressive so far in this format. His left arm angle should also add variety to a right-armer laden pace attack.

Finally, the batting security provided by India's all-rounders might allow Yuzvendra Chahal to get another opportunity. The leggie has had a prolonged lean run, with a few flashes of skill in between, although the tendency to stick with an attacking wristspinner should work in his favour. A failure on his end should see Kuldeep Yadav take his place.