Ireland vs India | Predicted XI for India for first T20I in Dublin

Openers

Rohit Sharma - It’s been a rather difficult year so far for the three-time double centurion, who was also dropped from the Test squad earlier this month. His inconsistency during the South Africa tour followed by an underwhelming IPL this year have also been a source of concern, but if he gets going, there won’t be any stopping the Mumbai batsman in any conditions whatsoever.

Shikhar Dhawan - One of the more consistent performers for the Indian team across all three formats of the game, Dhawan has established himself as a mainstay in the Indian team over the past year. The southpaw played an impressive role in the tri-series Nidahas Trophy that India won and also scored around 500 runs in this year’s IPL. A lot would be expected from him.

Middle-order

Virat Kohli - Making a return from his neck injury, the Indian skipper will look to get off to a good start versus the Irish ahead of a crucial series against England in the coming month. Kohli was the top run-scorer for Royal Challengers Bangalore this season as well despite his team doing badly, but that would definitely not be the case now.

KL Rahul - Probably one of the best Indian batsman in this year’s IPL, the Karnataka-born player scored a total of 659 runs over the course of 14 matches. He could be the batsman to stabilize India’s middle-order in a short format, given his magnificent batting skills, as he can either offer support Kohli to build an innings or accelerate the scoring, at will.

Suresh Raina - After failing the yo-yo test last year, CSK batsman Suresh Raina has focused more on his fitness and the gamble seemed to have paid off. After a decent impressive IPL season where he helped his side to the title Raina became the first choice for BCCI after Ambati Rayudu failed to clear the Yo-Yo test.

MS Dhoni - Dhoni is growing finer with age like a win, which was at display as he led a group of aged feet to IPL title. The middle-order batsman was also an integral part of it playing some crucial match-winning innings. Dhoni turned back the clock with some big-hitting knocks as he hit 455 runs and hit his best of 79* this year as well.

All-rounders

Hardik Pandya - Despite having a below-average season with the Mumbai Indians, the prodigal son still remains in the plans of coach Ravi Shastri and the skipper. Pandya had a decent outing in the Test match against Afghanistan and will look to build on from where he left off.

Bowlers 

Yuzvendra Chahal - An impressive performance in South Africa in the ODI series win against the hosts ensured that Chahal would earn a place in the plane to the United Kingdom despite a disappointing season with RCB. Kohli will hope that the duo of Yadav and Chahal would spin their magic against their European counterparts.

Kuldeep Yadav - Yadav wrecked havoc along with Chahal earlier this year during the ODI series as the pair claimed a record 33 wickets across six ODI games. He also picked up 17 wickets for KKR this year as they finished third in the IPL behind CSK and SRH.

Umesh Yadav - Getting him ahead of a full-proven Jasprit Bumrah is purely due to his eccentric display in RCB colours with the new ball. He was a constant threat in the opening powerplay overs during the entirety of IPL, where Yadav picked up most of his wickets and Kohli might look to use him in a similar manner in the UK tour as well.

Bhuvaneshwar Kumar - A master swinger of the ball and a death over specialist. Along with Pandya and Umesh, Kumar will be the spearhead of the Indian bowling department like he was with the SRH under the leadership of Kane Williamson. Kumar picked up 13 wickets in 12 matches as the Hyderabad-based franchise eventually missed out on the title in the finals.