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.