England vs India, 2018: India's predicted XI for first T20I after Bumrah and Sundar's injury
India castled Ireland to consolidate a 2-0 win at Dublin. The next consignment for the Indian cricket team is in England. India will be touring England for three T20Is, three ODIs, and five Tests.
India's tour of England will commence on 3 July with a T20I match at the Manchester. The India vs England encounter is expected to be a competitive one as both the teams have been in sublime form of late. Considering the current form of England, Indian team face an uphill task ahead as they meet England.
However, Jasprit Bumrah and Washington Sundar's injury has created a much of hush-hush in the Indian camp. The injuries have created a much of void in the team as the Indian team will now need to tinker their playing combination a bit for the 1st T20I against England.
With the T20I series against England just two days away, the Indian team management would be more or less looking forward to churning out the best possible combination of playing XI from their squad.
India's squad for T20I series against England: Virat Kohli(C), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Lokesh Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni (WK), Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Siddarth Kaul, and Umesh Yadav.
Thus, let us look at India's predicted playing XI for the first T20I against England.
Openers: Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma
Shikhar Dhawan has established himself as the first-choice opener for the Indian team. Being a left-handed batsman, Dhawan adds variety to the Indian batting line-up. He has been in red-hot form and has performed consistently for the Indian team, especially in the limited overs format.
Dhawan has performed exceptionally well in the English conditions in the past. Thus, his experiences from the past would be useful for the Indian team.
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma shot to form at the right time when he scored a stupendous 97 against Ireland in the first T20I. Although he failed to loiter the form in the second T20I, he seems perfectly fit for the opening slot for the T20I series against England.
Once the Hitman gets going, every bowling attack in the world seems futile. Thus, with an important T20I series up-next, the Indian management would not like to meddle with the opening pair and would be going forward with a fabled Rohit-Dhawan pair.