India's strongest ODI playing XI for the England tour

Right after the completion of the 2018 IPL, the Indian team's first major limited-overs assignment will be the three T20Is and three ODIs against England in England. Just before the start of the T20I against the Poms, the Indian team will play a couple of T20Is against the Irishmen in Ireland.

It has been announced that the national selectors will meet on May 8 to pick the team for the one-off Test against Afghanistan and the limited-overs leg of the England tour. Let us take a look at how India should line up in the ODI series.

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Openers - Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan

South Africa v India - 5th Momentum ODI

Opening is one area where there are a lot of contenders in the Indian team. The likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul etc. are in contention for the openers' role and only three will be boarding the flight to the United Kingdom.

It is almost certain that India's tried and tested opening combination, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan will open the batting in the ODI series against England. In all likelihood, Rahul might pip Pant, who is seen as a middle order option with the Indian team selecting Rahane for the third opener's spot thanks to his recent heroics.

Middle order - Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and Dinesh Karthik

Virat Kohli

Unless the team management wants to try Virat Kohli at number 4, it is pretty obvious that skipper Virat Kohli will walk out to bat after the fall of the first wicket. There is no one better than the right-hander in ODIs and he will look to continue his dominance in the English soil as well.

Suresh Raina last played an ODI for India in 2015 and it is highly likely that the southpaw might get into the Indian ODI side, thanks to his recent success. He will be facing some competition from Kedar Jadhav and taking his fielding skills into consideration, Raina might get the nod in the Indian middle order at number 5 followed by Dinesh Karthik, who is in the form of his life, as a finisher at number 6.

Wicketkeeper and All-rounder - MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya and MS Dhoni

Number 4 has been a cursed position for team India in ODIs as the team management has tried a handful of names and failed to come up with the right person to take up the responsibility.

Former captain MS Dhoni's recent form will give some hope for the Indian team management as playing the 36-year-old at that position will give the team more stability. All-rounder Hardik Pandya, in spite of recent struggles with the bat, is expected to retain his place in the side at number 7. Skipper Kohli will expect Hardik to give him his full quota of ten overs and score some runs with the bat.

Spinners - Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav

Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav

Without a doubt, India have one of the best spin combinations in the ODI format. Wrist spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal complement each other well. Both are doing well for their sides in the IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore, respectively.

They played a key role in helping India win their first ever ODI series win in South Africa and the team management will hope that India's spin-twins manage to repeat their heroics in England as well.

Fast bowlers - Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar

The Indian fans and skipper Virat Kohli should consider themselves lucky to have the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah bowling in tandem in the ODIs.

Bumrah is arguably the best limited-overs bowler at the moment as he is dangerous with the new ball and is lethal in the death overs, thanks to his variations.

Bhuvneshwar is more of a bowler who swings the new ball more than Bumrah and just like his fast-bowling partner, he can be deadly in the death overs as well. These two men bowling towards the end of the innings will choke the run flow of the opposition.