Nidahas Trophy, 2018: How Rohit Sharma's men should line-up for the rest of the tournament

Team India started off as favourites to win the Nidahas Trophy, 2018. After a shock loss in the first game against Sri Lanka, India bounced back well against Bangladesh to secure their first win in the tournament.

However, it is certain that India has not played to their potential so far, and will be looking to pull up their socks and put their best foot forward in the next two matches.

Here is how India should line up for the remaining games of the Nidahas Trophy.

Openers - Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan

1) Rohit Sharma

The Indian stand-in skipper’s South Africa tour did not go as well as he would have liked. In the Nidahas Trophy too, he finds himself short of runs. But, he is too good a player to be out of form for a long time.

Rohit has got a great record as a skipper and will be looking to get going with the bat, putting the mediocre South Africa tour and these couple of failures against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka behind.

2) Shikhar Dhawan

‘Gabbar’ was in red-hot form in the limited-overs series against the South Africans. With back-to-back fifties in the first two games of the Nidahas Trophy, it is certain that he has cemented his spot in the side. He will continue to bat at the top of the order and will look to carry on his good form.

Middle Order - KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey

3) KL Rahul

The Karnataka batsman was unfortunate to miss out on a spot in the playing XI in the first two games. His T20I record has been sensational and he was coming into the tournament having two big scores under his belt in the previous T20I series he played for India in December 2017.

With Rishabh Pant not looking in the best of form, it is only fair to give Rahul his much-deserved chance.

4) Suresh Raina

Raina’s comeback in the South African tour was just about good enough, even though he missed out on a big score. India is looking at Raina as a specialist no.3 batsman in T20 cricket now.

His experience will be very crucial in this series because India has got a fairly inexperienced middle order. So far, in the Nidahas trophy, he has not quite impressed. However, a big score may be just around the corner.

5) Manish Pandey

Pandey struck form during the South Africa tour and carried it on into the Nidahas Trophy, and thus making the No.4 spot his. He has to keep scoring big since there is a lot of competition around him for the same spot.

Pandey’s ability to pace the innings well makes him the perfect choice for the no.4 slot. After struggling to score at a brisk pace in the first game, the Karnataka lad saw India home in the run chase against Bangladesh.

Wicket Keeper - Dinesh Karthik, All-rounders - Washington Sundar, Vijay Shankar

6) Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik is always hanging by the thread in the Indian side in every series he plays, knowing that even one bad performance could be enough to show him the exit doors. The Nidahas Trophy gives Karthik an opportunity to redeem himself and cement his spot in the side for the long run.

He will be assigned with the wicket-keeping duties too, in the absence of MS Dhoni. So far, he hasn't had a big role to play, but he will surely get a good opportunity to bat in the coming games.

7) Washington Sundar

Washington Sundar is one of the brightest prospects in Indian cricket at the moment. An off-spinner who can be a handy lower-order batsman, Sundar made his debut against Sri Lanka in December 2017.

Sundar has bowled very economically in the two games he has played, going for less than 30 runs in four overs in both games. The young lad has been finding his feet in international cricket and deserves more chances in the future

8) Vijay Shankar

The Tamil Nadu all-rounder was picked ahead of Mohammed Siraj in the playing XI in the Nidahas Trophy. He is currently fighting to gain the spot of backup fast bowling all-rounder in the Indian team, in place of Hardik Pandya. After a good show against Bangladesh, it is certain that much more lies in store for him.

Fast bowlers - Jaydev Unadkat and Shardul Thakur, Spinner - Yuzvendra Chahal

9) Jaydev Unadkat

The Saurashtra left-arm seamer made a comeback into the Indian side on the back of match-winning performances for Rising Pune Supergiant in the IPL, last season.

In this tournament, he has been a bit wayward with his line and lengths, but it is too early to write him off. However, Jaydev still managed to pick up three wickets against Bangladesh and will continue to spearhead the bowling attack going forward.

10) Shardul Thakur

The Mumbai fast-bowler was one of the finds for India in the limited-overs leg of the South Africa tour. He has done enough in domestic cricket to prove that he should be given a long rope.

After getting hit all around the park in the first game against Sri Lanka, he made a brilliant comeback against Bangladesh and showed everyone what he is made of.

11) Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal is currently India's best spinner in T20 cricket. He has the ability to outfox batsmen and has got a bag of tricks up his sleeve.

So far, Chahal has been mighty effective in this series and has picked up wickets at regular intervals. He will be a crucial performer if India is to win this tournament.