India's strongest T20 XI for England tour

The Indian selectors have finally announced India's T20 squad for the series in Ireland and England and while the usual names make the cut, there are few surprising names in the squad, players who have been awarded for their consistency in the ongoing Indian Premier League.

The 16-member squad has all the bases covered and we try to forge an 11 which will be perhaps India's best team to take on both Ireland and England as the conditions in both the nations will be pretty similar.

Openers

Shikhar Dhawan

The southpaw has been enjoying an extended purple patch in white ball cricket since the last Champions Trophy and has had a consistent run at the top of the order.

He was brilliant in South Africa in both the ODIs and T20Is and hence it is a no-brainer that he will walk out to face the new ball.

Rohit Sharma

Perhaps the most successful opening batsman in the limited-overs format over the past three years, Rohit Sharma will accompany Dhawan at the top of the order.

The duo came together back in 2013 for the Champions Trophy and has not looked back ever since. They will once again deal with the new ball in conditions which favor batting in the powerplay.

Top order

Virat Kohli

The Indian captain will walk out at the number three spot to control the flow of the game and dictate terms to the oppositions and there should be no real reason for him to tinker with this composition.

He is the best player in the team and should take charge of proceedings and then drop the hammer when he believes the time is perfect to step on the accelerator.

Suresh Raina

The southpaw has made an inspired return to the Indian team and looked in good touch in the T20I series against South Africa where he won the man of the match award in the final match.

Along with Kohli, Raina can form the nucleus of the team and serve as the engine for the Indian team.

Middle order

MS Dhoni

The former Indian captain has been in scintillating form in the ongoing Indian Premier League and his resurgence as a batsman has been one of the stories this season.

He has wound the clock back and his big strokes have come to the fore. He is back to finishing the innings and the Indian team would hope he carries this form to England.

Dinesh Karthik

Another experienced man who has been in red-hot form and can be the finisher along with MS Dhoni as the duo not only have the experience on their side but have the skills to boot.

Karthik has been playing the role of the finisher for the Kolkata Knight Riders and has shown that he can go for his strokes right from ball one, which is just what the Indian team wants.

All-rounders

Hardik Pandya will be the all-rounder for the Indian team and he has been one of the bright lights for the Mumbai Indians with both bat and ball.

He is among the leading wicket-takers in the IPL and has played few innings of panache with the bat.

Spinners

Kuldeep Yadav

Another bright young talent, Kuldeep Yadav impressed one and all with his prowess in South Africa. He gets the ball to spin both ways and is generally hard to pick. In England, where there is not much assistance to the spinners, Kuldeep might prove to be a real handful.

Yuzvendra Chahal

Kuldeep's partner-in-crime in South Africa and Sri Lanka was Yuzvendra Chahal and there's no reason why the Indian team would want to split the duo.

Chahal is very consistent and can be relied upon both in the powerplays and then in the middle overs and against the England batting order, he can pose serious questions.

Seam bowlers

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Perhaps the most complete bowler for India across all the three formats, Bhuvneshwar Kumar will once again be the leader of the attack for Kohli.

He gets the ball to seam and shape up front and then towards the death overs can be lethal with his changes of pace and yorkers to pick up wickets.

Jasprit Bumrah

Another one of India's match-winners with the white ball, Jasprit Bumrah is perhaps the most complete bowler with the white nut.

He can run up with the white ball and get it to skid and shape and then with the older ball has the ability to nail his yorkers and change pace to befuddle the batsmen.

Siddarth Kaul

The newest entrant into the Indian T20 side, Siddarth Kaul has earned this opportunity through sheer performances both in domestic as well as in the IPL.

He generally runs in after the end of the powerplays and looks for wickets right through. His temperament and attitude are very promising and Kohli would look at him to control proceedings in the middle overs and also in the latter overs.