Nidahas Trophy 2018: Here is the India Predicted XI

India has recently been in stupendous touch in the limited-overs formats. They managed to comprehensively demolish the South Africans, both in the ODI and the T20I series. Meanwhile, they also registered their maiden victories in both the series. The Men in Blue’s next assignment will be the triangular T20I series against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Prior to the tournament, the team management has decided to quite a few of India’s big names. Subsequently, they have formed a young squad who will take charge in Colombo. The Indian batting lineup is expected to see some alterations ahead of their opening game against the hosts on March 6. That said, we take a look at

Openers (Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma (c))

Rohit Sharma has been decided as the captain in the absence of Virat Kohli. The Mumbai Indians opener has three Indian Premier League titles for his side and hence the decision to crown Sharma as a leader doesn’t spring a surprise. Nevertheless, Rohit has been a tad jittery with the willow and will be itching to get a substantial score under his belt, especially in the recently-concluded series against the Proteas in the limited-overs’ format.

Shikhar Dhawan had had a decent run of form in the recently concluded tour of South Africa. He was entrusted to open the batting and he hardly let his team down. The Delhi batsman will be hoping to translate his stupendous form into the triangular series. Meanwhile, the openers will be retained from India’s erstwhile tour of the Rainbow nation.

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Middle-order (Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant (wk))

The middle order will definitely be a witness to some changes bearing in mind MS Dhoni’s exclusion from the squad. Dinesh Karthik played as a specialist batsman in South Africa and it’s unlikely that the Tamil Nadu-batsman will don the keeping gloves. Rishabh Pant has been in the Team India scheme of things for quite a while and the Delhi batsman might get an opportunity to keep wickets.

Suresh Raina brings the much-needed experience to the squad. He played some quick-fire knocks against the Proteas and is expected to be a vital cog in the middle order for the upcoming tri-series. Manish Pandey looked in excellent touch in the deciding game of the series and will be required to fire in order for India post competitive totals on the board.

All-rounder (Vijay Shankar, Axar Patel)

Hardik Pandya has been rested ahead of the series, which has left a massive void in the Indian lineup. Vijay Shankar, the Tamil Nadu limited-overs skipper, has been drafted in to replace the Baroda all-rounder. He has been in excellent touch lately while Virat Kohli and the Indian team management have mentioned about grooming Shankar as a backup of Pandya.

Axar Patel was included in the T20 squad for India’s tour of South Africa. However, he only played the deciding encounter at the Newlands in Cape Town and faltered miserably. Nevertheless, on sub-continent wickets, he can be a handy prospect with his left-arm orthodox bowling. Meanwhile, he is no mug with the willow either and will add to the depth in India’s batting lineup.

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Bowlers (Yuzvendra Chahal, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat)  

In the bowling department, Yuzvendra Chahal is the lone wrist-spinner and will be partnered by Axar Patel. Chahal was rested for the third T20I against South Africa, however, is expected to be a crucial element of the bowling department. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah have been granted a much-needed break after their stupendous performance in South Africa.

Jaydev Unadkat and Shardul Thakur are likely to shoulder the mantle in the fast bowling department in their absence. Both Thakur and Unadkat played in South Africa and will look to bring their experience into play against their Asian counterparts.