Ireland vs India 2018: India's predicted XI for first T20I

India begin their preparations for their tour to England by playing two T20Is against Ireland. The Men in Blue have a full-strength squad to pick from and should use this as the ideal platform to get acclimatized to the conditions on offer. They have struggled to counter the swinging and overcast conditions in England in the past and there is no better way to prepare than get a few games under the belt, and there is no place more suitable than Ireland.

The Irish, however, are no pushovers and have quite a few T20 specialists, including Paul Stirling and Kevin O'Brien in their ranks.

India though will be expected to come through unscathed. Here is how India could line up in the first T20I:

Openers

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan

Rohit Sharma had a disastrous IPL campaign and will need to find some form ahead of the England tour. Ireland don't have the most potent of bowling attacks and Rohit could make merry if he gets a start. No boundary is big enough once the Hitman gets going and he will look to propel India to a 200-plus total.

Shikhar Dhawan will partner Rohit at the top, despite the presence of KL Rahul in the squad. Dhawan was one of Sunrisers' top performers in IPL 2018 and will be looking to carry that form into international cricket as well. Dhawan has performed phenomenally in England in the past and his knowledge of the conditions will come in handy for the Indians on their gruelling tour.

While KL Rahul was one of the best batsmen in the recently concluded IPL, India would not want to tinker with a settled opening pairing and are expected to stick with Rohit and Dhawan at the top.

Middle order

Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik

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Skipper Virat Kohli is back to full fitness after suffering a neck injury during the fag end of the IPL. Kohli was initially supposed to take part in the County Championship to prepare himself for the England tour but the injury ruled him out. He also did not play a part in the one-off Test against Afghanistan. However, he has stated that he is 100% fit and raring to go. Kohli is by far the best limited-overs batsman in the world and could put Ireland to the sword if he gets going, especially if he is chasing a total.

This could be Suresh Raina's final chance to cement his place in the Indian side. He has been far too hit and miss even after his return and did not have a great IPL season either with the Chennai Super Kings. Raina generally tends to struggle against the short ball and the Irish will throw plenty of that at him. Will he be able to handle it?

Dines Karthik is one of the most underrated players in the world at present. He hardly ever fails with the bat and is a safe keeper as well. He has developed into a fine finisher as well as was evidenced in the Nidahas Trophy final. Karthik had yet another solid campaign with KKR in the IPL and led the side to the playoffs. The final middle-order spot with be a toss-up between him and Rahul but I expect Karthik to get the nod.

All-rounder and wicketkeeper

Hardik Pandya and MS Dhoni

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Vintage Dhoni was on show in IPL 2018 as he rewound the clock and took us back to a time when he was at his belligerent best and won games for India single-handedly. He has struggled in the Indian blue in the past couple of years though and against relatively weaker opposition, could come to the party. His keeping remains top-notch and he has not slowed down a bit despite getting on in age.

Hardik Pandya has improved leaps and bounds as a bowler of late, but his batting remains a cause for concern. He is far too inconsistent with the willow in hand and often throws his wicket away after getting starts. It seems to be more of a mental block than an issue with technique although he does struggle against the full, moving ball. He does, however, remain India's best bet looking ahead to the World Cup next year.

Spinners

Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal

India v Bangladesh - Twenty 20 cricket match

The spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have been mainstays in India's limited-overs setup for the last year or so. Wrist spinners have the ability to extract purchase from surfaces that do not assist spin whatsoever and that is an added bonus considering the tracks in Ireland and England are not expected to be spinner-friendly.

The two complement each other perfectly and will play a massive role in India's plans on the next few tours.

Pacers

Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar

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Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar's emergence as world-class bowlers mean India are equipped with one of the most lethal bowling attacks in the world at the moment. Bumrah struggled this season in the IPL, but he remains one of the best death bowlers in the world. His unorthodox action and skiddy deliveries should cause problems to Ireland who would have never faced him before.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar had a poor IPL for Sunrisers this season. While he bowled probing lines and troubled the best of batsmen, he could not quite get the breakthroughs. He has been Inda's best bowler in the past couple of years though and in England with a hint of swing on offer, will be expected to wreak havoc. The Irish batsmen are not the best going around bar Stirling and India will look to Bhuvneshwar to pick up key early wickets and return at the death and contain the run flow.

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