5 Indian players who can trouble Ireland in the T20I series

After defeating Afghanistan in the historic Test match played at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, Team India is all set to restart their limited overs campaign with the 2-match T20I series against Ireland from the 27th of June this year at The Village in Dublin.

While the Irish team is going to enter this series after a T20I series win against Scotland, the Indian players are expected to start the long tour on a good note.

Although the Irish team is going to host the Indian team on the back of a T20I series win, they will surely have to face quite a few difficulties against the visitors.

Let’s have a look at the 5 players who will pose a challenge for the hosts in the series.

#1 Virat Kohli

The “Run Machine” is in the prime form of his life. After playing some outstanding cricket in the matches against South Africa across all the three formats and scoring some decent amount of runs in the IPL, Kohli will look to continue his good run and start the tour on a high.

Kohli has played a total of 16 T20 matches in 2018, in which he has scored 557 runs at an average of 42.84, which includes four half-centuries as well. He scored all the 4 fifties in the recently concluded IPL, which reflects his current form and everybody is aware of his ability to carry good form from one tournament to the other.

Kohli's hunger of performing the best and winning matches for the team came into the picture when he decided to play County cricket. But unfortunately, because of the neck injury, he could not take part in the competition. Although this injury gave him ample time to have proper rest and now he is completely fit and ready to lead the team from the front.

With the long tour coming up against England, Kohli will definitely try to perform to the best of his abilities by scoring as much as runs for the team and keep the morale of the team up.

#2 Shikhar Dhawan

The southpaw from Delhi will go into the T20I series after displaying some brilliant performances across all the three formats of the game, which is the main reason behind the fact that he has become the first choice for opening the batting ahead of some other potential candidates.

Dhawan has scored a total of 838 runs in 24 T20 matches in 2018 at an average of 39.90, including seven half centuries. He was among the top-10 run scorers in the IPL and also scored a hundred in the only test match played against Afghanistan. Both these facts are evident of Dhawan's current form and his ability to play according to the format of the game.

Dhawan is one of those few players who is going to be the part of the team till the end of the long tour as he is expected to play all the matches, and his form will play an important role in bringing success for the team.

#3 Umesh Yadav

The 30-year old right arm fast bowler has showed some fantastic bowling performances in the recent past. Yadav was not the part of the squad in the last T20I series which the team played against the Proteas in South Africa, but his performance in the IPL has got him a place in the team.

In 2018, Yadav has only played T20 matches in the IPL, where he took 20 wickets in 14 matches at an economy rate of 7.86 runs per over. He was one of the top-five wicket takers in IPL and also bowled brilliantly in the test match against Afghanistan, which proves his potential of bowling good spells in any format of the game.

Yadav is one of the key players of the Indian bowling attack, and the combination of his experience and current form will definitely help the team in winning matches.

#4 Dinesh Karthik

The star of the Nidahas trophy final has been in the form of his life when it comes to the shortest format of the game. Karthik has become the permanent member of the Indian limited overs squad after displaying some fabulous batting performances at the international level as well as at the domestic level.

The wicket-keeper batsman has played 28 T20 matches in 2018, in which he has scored a sum of 807 runs at an average of 47.47. He was the leading run scorer for his team in the IPL and also played the role of a finisher in quite a few occasions, which is a good sign in the team’s point of view.

Karthik is one of the players who is looking to seal his position in the team by solving the No.4 spot jinx in the batting line-up in the limited overs format and his current form can give him the edge ahead of some other potential candidates.

#5 Hardik Pandya

The 24-year all-rounder from Baroda is going to be one of the key threats to deal with for the hosts in the T20I series. The ability to bowl difficult overs with ease and bat according to the situation of the match gives Pandya an edge when it comes to the selection of all-rounders in the team.

In 2018, Pandya has played 16 T20 matches, in which he has scored 294 runs at an average of 29.40, and has taken 21 wickets at an economy rate of 8.76 runs per over.

Although his batting performance in the IPL was decent, but his performance with the ball was more than par. He was also among the top-10 wicket takers in IPL and was the leading wicket-taker for his team.

Pandya is a great asset to have in the team, and his all-round abilities can definitely create problems for the hosts.