Strongest India ODI XI for the England Tour

The 11th edition of the Indian Premier League is almost halfway down the line. After the domestic tournament gets over, India’s first international assignment would be an away tour to England.

Cricket News: National selectors have decided to meet on May 8 to choose the final team

After the IPL, the next destination for team India was going to be England. The series boasted of three T20Is and three ODIs, with the Indian team playing two T20Is against Ireland before playing against England.

The national selectors are going to meet on May 8 to decide the playing XI for one test match against Afghanistan and for the limited-overs session of the England Tour.

Given below is the strongest XI which the national selectors should select before the England tour.

Openers− Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan

The Indian management has tried and tested many combinations for the opening slot of the team. But no duo has been more effective than the partnership Rohit and Dhawan.

Among the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, etc., the selectors will choose the third opener, with Rahane leading the race because of his recent heroics.

Middle order− Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and Dinesh Karthik

The Indian skipper Kohli will surely come at number 3 and will try to show his dominance on the English soil as well.

Suresh Raina, who had featured for India in an ODI match last in 2015, might make his comeback due to recent success and bat at number 5. He will facing competition from Kedar Jadhav, but might make the cut due to his fielding skills.

Dinesh Karthik will be regarded as a finisher at number 6 as he is currently in the form of his life.

Wicketkeeper and All-rounder− MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya

MS Dhoni’s experience might provide more stability to the team if he comes to bat at number 4, a position for team India which has failed from time to time.

Hardik Pandya will be looking to come at number 7 and score some quick runs and would also be expected to complete his full quota of ten overs and take some wickets.

Spinners− Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav

India perhaps has the best spin duo in the likes of Chahal and Yadav. Both the wrist spinners complement each other well and played a key role in India’s ODI series win over South Africa, and would look to continue doing well in England too.

Fast bowlers− Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah

While Bhuvneshwar is an expert in swinging the ball both ways, Bumrah is known for his pitch-perfect yorkers. Both the bowlers are very effective with the new ball as well as deadly in the death overs. They both has the ability to choke the opposition’s batting and restrict the flow of runs.