India's predicted playing XI for the ODIs against England

The Indian One Day side has played some fearless cricket over the last couple of years, since the time Virat Kohli took over the captaincy from MSD. The England limited overs side have also come a long way since World Cup 2015, with a changed mindset, and have now become One Day superpowers.

With the ODIs set to begin on the 12th of July, 2018, players and fans from both the countries would be very excited to see what both the sides have in store for us. Given the consistent attitude and approach India has shown in ODIs over quite some time, it is a no-brainer that the openers will be the same.

Looking towards the ODIs, here is the probable playing XI for India:

#1 Rohit Sharma

Mr. 200 or Hitman, whatever you may call him, he is the backbone of any high scoring Indian innings. With the kind of reputation he has built for himself at that position and the kind of improvement and consistency he has shown over the last one and a half years, he is certain to open the innings and his fans would definitely be hoping to see another 200 from him this series. He is yet to show the same consistency and class outside of India, or rather, outside the subcontinent, and would be itching to correct that.

Ro'Hitman' Sharma

#2 Shikhar Dhawan

The degree of improvement this man has shown over the last 12-16 months, across formats, is just phenomenal. He has shown unexpected levels of consistency, something that he lacked earlier, and it would be a sure thing to include him.

Shikhar 'Gabbar' Dhawan

#3 Virat Kohli

Skipper Virat has always been India's Mr. Consistent and therefore, the backbone of the Indian batting lineup. He is someone whom no Indian fan can imagine the team without. This series could be another Virat special one, as he would want to undo the horrors of his 2014 England outing.

Indian Captain Virat Kohli

#4 KL Rahul

India seem to struggle to stick with one standard number 4 batsman, having tried various options over the last one year. Southpaw Yuvraj Singh, the experienced Dinesh Karthik, fresh talent such as Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey have all been given a chance, but none of them has been able to make the spot his own.

KL Rahul had been missing from the selectors' radar up until IPL 2018, where he created havoc with the bat. That led to him being included in the T20 squad against England, and he took the opportunity with open arms and slammed his 2nd T20I Hundred. Therefore, at the moment, there is no better number 4 batsman in India than KL Rahul

KL Rahul

#5 MS Dhoni

Number 5 remains MS Dhoni's spot. With his sheer ability to play with the batsmen's minds from behind the stumps and with the bowlers' minds while batting, he is a must for the Indian middle order. With age, his hitting abilities seem to have subsided a bit, but this IPL he showed us that age is just a number.

What we saw at CSK was a batting masterclass from MS Dhoni, who reinvented himself as a batsman, more often than not coming in to bat at number 4 and hammering the bowlers all around the park like vintage MSD. He has proven all his critics wrong by playing some out of the world knocks with some staggering shots, and that is what makes him the ideal number 5 for India.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni

#6 Dinesh Karthik

A wicketkeeper batsman who started his career as a top order batsman, Karthik has gone through a lot as a cricketer. He has been in and out of the side after the emergence of MS Dhoni and has failed to cement a place in the XI.

However, over the last one year, he has shown an overall improvement. He first did exceedingly well in the domestic circuit, then got selected in the Indian limited overs and Test sides and then slammed that heroic 29 off 8 deliveries against Bangladesh in the Nidahas Trophy final. This is undoubtedly the best phase of his career and he deserves a spot in the playing XIs ahead of Suresh Raina, who has looked off-colour over the past couple of years.

DK has not only proven himself with the bat, but also as a captain of KKR in the IPL, as he gave chances to many uncapped and undiscovered players, and also played some great cameos in the end, making the most of his seemingly fragile KKR side and making it to the top 4. He has proven himself as a finisher and therefore, is the best suited number 6 for India in the absence of Kedar Jadhav.

Dinesh Karthik

#7 Hardik Pandya

Having proven himself time and again as a world class finisher and a fast bowler who can not only bowl those extra overs, but can also play as a full quota bowler for India, Hardik Pandya has come a long way from what he initially was. When he had arrived, he was this thin guy who could slog and hit a few sixes along with bowling a few overs of seam in between. What we see today is a far more matured and developed cricketer who knows how to build an innings along with hitting those biggies and also someone who can bowl a full quota of 10 overs just like a normal fast bowler.

He has played some exhilarating knocks with the bat and also taken crucial wickets, along with being a classy fielder. He has become very very popular among the fans and has lots to offer. He cannot be ignored from any lineup.

#8 Bhuvaneshwar Kumar

Mr. Swing of the Indian bowling lineup. One of the most consistent bowlers in India, Bhuvi deserves to play each of the one dayers leading up to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. He has the genuine ability to swing the ball both ways and trouble the batsman, and can also bowl excellent yorkers at the death to curb the flow of runs. With his excellent abilities as a bowler and the ability to bat at the tail, Bhuvi is a big asset to India.

Bhuvaneshwar Kumar

#9 Kuldeep Yadav

India being a team from the subcontinent, has its strength in spin. They have always produced quality spinners who have troubled non-subcontinental batsman and that is why it is very obvious that India will play 2 spinners against England.

Kuldeep Yadav has been very very successful in picking those crucial wickets in the middle overs and not letting the opposition get good partnerships. With his unusual chinaman action, Kuldeep has successfully tricked several batsmen into getting out LBW. His first and only ODI hattrick came against Australia last year, and he will be key to India's middle overs' bowling against England.

Kuldeep Yadav

#10 Umesh Yadav

In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, India need a quality and experienced fast bowler who can bowl alongside Bhuvaneshwar in the first spell and swing the ball. Umesh Yadav, with his express pace and accuracy, can do wonders for India on English pitches. He has the ability to hit the deck hard and swing the ball, and can pick early wickets.

With the outstanding IPL performance behind him, he is a player to watch out for. Umesh can also reverse swing the ball and can maintain his pace for long periods of time, things that could help India immensely in British conditions.

Umesh Yadav

#11 Yuzvendra Chahal

As mentioned before, India's strength in terms of bowling lies in spin, and Yuzvendra Chahal is at the moment the best spinner in India. He has proven himself with the ball time and again, and it is a no-brainer to include him in the playing XI. Chahal does not leak too many runs and also picks wickets. He can trick the English batsman into playing stupid shots and giving away their wickets.

Yuzvendra Chahal