3 questions India need to answer against Ireland

Though the two T20Is against Ireland is more of a rehearsal for the big tour of England, a loss here can deter India's confidence. After the IPL, this is the first limited-overs series for the Indian players and most of the players are fit and raring to go. It was evident from Virat Kohli's press conference in which he mentioned that he was 110% fit.

A T20 series right after the IPL is always fascinating because many players who performed well in the tournament get opportunities and this series would be no different. KL Rahul is in the form of his life; he can make it to the side both as an opener and as a middle order batsman. Dinesh Karthik has shown that his Nidahas Trophy Final heroics were not a one-off, having consistently finished games for KKR.

If India is to succeed in the England series, then the team management has to take the right calls. Poor decision making may not affect the result of the matches against Ireland, but it can come back to haunt India later.

#1 Is Shikhar Dhawan the right pick or does KL Rahul deserve to open?

In ODIs, Shikhar Dhawan has always been in a different league. He can take on the bowlers in the first 10 overs and get India off to a flier. With an average of 46, his spot in the side has hardly ever been in question.

But his record in T20 Internationals is drastically different. He averages 26 with a strike rate of 128. Though he had a few good innings in South Africa, a poor IPL has again opened up the debate of whether he should be opening for India in T20Is.

KL Rahul is in sublime form; he scored 659 runs at a strike rate of 160 in this year's IPL. Even in T20Is, he has performed better than Dhawan in the limited chances he has got. He averages over 45 and has a strike rate of 146.

The decision to pick one of them would be a hard one for the management, and it would be interesting to see who they decide to go with in the end.

#2 Is Karthik the answer to India's finisher conundrum?

Time for role reversal?

Dinesh Karthik was another batsman who had a phenomenal IPL. He took on two new roles of leading the side as well as batting in the lower middle order, and he did both of them admirably well. He has been in and out of the Indian team for many years and has always made his way back into the side by scoring a truckload of runs in domestic cricket. This time was no different.

The thing that has worked in his favor is his batting position. Earlier, he was a top-order batsman and the moment he failed there were many others to claim that position whereas India has limited supply of capable finishers so he has a longer leash this time around.

In the Nidahas Trophy, he was made the finisher as the management had no other option with Dhoni and Pandya unavailable and he showed his capabilities in the final. He took on the responsibility of finishing the game for KKR in IPL 2018 and scored at an average of 50 and a strike rate of 150. He scored 472 out of 498 of his runs in the IPL batting lower than No.4 and he did an extraordinary job as a finisher.

MS Dhoni has time and again expressed his desire of batting at a higher position. But he just had an extraordinary IPL in which he scored at an average of 75 and a strike rate of 150. The way Dhoni has rewound the clock and Karthik's form would give the team management a happy headache for the finisher's job (No.6).

#3 The merry-go-round that is the No.4 spot

Who will be the given the opportunity to bat at 4?

The debate over who will get a chance to bat at No.4 refuses to die. India has not been able to find a reliable batsman at this position for the last 4 years. The situation is so bleak that even after so much time has elapsed, India seems to be again going back to Suresh Raina who was their trusted man not too long ago.

Though it seems likely that Raina will take that position, KL Rahul can give him a tough fight if the team management decides to go with Shikhar Dhawan as their opener. KL Rahul had a fantastic IPL and his century at No.4 in Florida against Windies in 2016 showed that he is a capable No.4 batsman as well.

In India's last T20I series, which was against South Africa, Virat Kohli had batted at that position which had allowed Raina to bat at No.3 and take on the bowlers in the powerplay. We can't rule out this thought as well.

MS Dhoni also seems to be getting back to his best and giving him more time at the crease by making him bat at No.4 won't be a bad idea either.

With 4 batsmen having exceptional capabilities competing for that spot, it will be a tough decision for the management and Kohli to take. If India is not able to find their No.4 in this series, they will struggle against a well-settled England unit, which has recently whitewashed Australia in the ODI series.