England vs India: India's Predicted XI for the ODI series

Team India kicked off their England tour on a fabulous note. They became the first ever Indian team to win a T20I series against England in England. However, the job is yet to be done and there is no scope of slackening. The Indian team is set to play England in a three-match ODI series beginning this July 12. This will then be followed by a five-match Test series.

The Indian team will want to keep going hard at the hosts in the ODIs as well. There are a few new members who joined the team for the ODIs and will be eager to prove themselves. With plenty of options available, we could see the management having to take some tough decisions. Some of the players who didn’t get to feature in T20Is could get a go. Being a short one, we may not witness many changes in the final XI during the course of the series except for one or two depending upon the conditions.

Here is India’s Predicted XI for the ODI series:

Openers (Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma)

Although Shikhar Dhawan’s recent form is a matter of concern for the Indian team, he is one of India’s first choice openers and will continue to fulfil the role in the ODIs. He only scored 19 runs in the three T20I games against England. Dhawan will be eager to do well in the ODIs and will have to draw some confidence from the IPL, Afghanistan and Ireland games.

Indian vice-captain Rohit Sharma, on the other hand, announced his arrival in England with a top class century in the final T20I. This game, also being the series decider, was a must win one and there was immense pressure on the Hitman. But, he applied himself beautifully and will be looking to give himself a go at the Test squad which is to be picked by doing well in the ODI series.

Middle Order (Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik)

The middle order is a huge area of concern for the Indian team. KL Rahul, being an opener has to be accommodated in the top three. However, this is a spot Virat Kohli owned for himself for a few years now and is too good to drop himself down the order. Furthermore, his record batting at No 4 isn’t as good as expected. Hence, the middle order will be a place of a few experiments for the Indian team.

India will want to try out Dinesh Karthik, KL Rahul, Suresh Raina and possibly Shreyas Iyer as well ahead of the World Cup 2019 to come to a consensus. Also, they could experiment a bit with the batting order as well. As of now, KL Rahul, MS Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik will be the first choice options. Karthik has been around with the team for quite some time now and will get a nod ahead of Raina and Iyer.

All Rounders (Hardik Pandya)

Hardik Pandya has evolved leaps and bounds as an all-rounder. He is currently the finisher in the team and often used as a floater in the lineup. Pandya was brutal against in English bowlers in the T20I series and will want to carry to momentum forward. Also, he is more than capable of being the fifth bowler in the side. He bowls some great lines and lengths and adapts to the conditions quickly.

Spinners (Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav)

The Kul-Cha duo is not an unknown commodity to the English batsmen. This pair has got them trying hard to find a cover. In fact, they were also spotted practising with the Merlyn bowling machine to counter these wrist spinners. This duo possesses great variations and the English players are not known to be great players of spin. Kuldeep Yadav will have to bring in something new for the ODI series as the English batsmen did well against him in the 2nd T20I. Hence, it is likely that this duo will feature in all of the three games.

Fast Bowlers (Siddarth Kaul/Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav)

With a long season ahead and Bhuvi having some fitness issues, the management would probably not dare to take a chance with him. He was the leading wicket-taker in Test for India back in 2014 and will hold the key this time around as well. Also, Jasprit Bumrah is doubtful for the First Test. Hence, this would open the doors for few of the new players in the squad for the ODI series. However, Bhuvi will definitely play if he is fit enough and confident.

Siddarth Kaul, who was mighty impressive thus far is expected to get a go. He might make his ODI debut in this series. Also, Umesh Yadav will be playing an ODI game for India almost after a year. He looked good in the T20I series and had a great IPL season.

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