With big guns Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah are expected to be rested in the upcoming ODI series against Sri Lanka. How’ll Team India’s squad look? The two batters have already retired from T20Is, and Bumrah is expected to be rested from the shorter format as well.
ODIs: KL to captain, Shreyas to return
However, for ODIs, the case may be entirely different. We still aren’t sure whether KL Rahul or Hardik Pandya will be the interim captain. The opener and No. 3 spot are up for grabs, with Kohli and Rohit not playing. Is Shreyas Iyer, who wasn’t granted a central contract earlier in the year, returning to the team?
From how things have been progressing, we might just see one debutant for India in ODIs, Yashasvi Jaiswal. The southpaw has performed every time he’s donned the Indian jersey and is expected to play his first ODI game soon. Hardik is expected to skip the 3-match series due to personal reason, which means that KL Rahul will lead the team.
Mukesh Kumar, Ravi Bishnoi, Shivam Dube, Sanju Samson, Rinku Singh, and Arshdeep Singh, who have a combined experience of 32 matches, will all feature, and Rishabh Pant will make his comeback after more than one and a half year. Shreyas Iyer is also expected to return after putting on a splendid display in the ODI World Cup 2023 and with his KKR mentor becoming India’s new head coach.
Predicted India ODI squad for Sri Lanka
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul (c), Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar.
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T20Is: Hardik to lead, No place for Ruturaj
The T20 squad against captain-less Sri Lanka is more or less settled, with a mix of T20 World Cup winners and Zimbabwe series champions in the 15-man team. Following their Zimbabwe success, Abhishek Sharma, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, and Mukesh Kumar are likely to make it to the squad. Meanwhile, most of the players who were part of the T20 World Cup (main and reserves) squad will be there as well.
Hardik Pandya, who was the vice-captain during the mega-event, will take over Rohit Sharma as captain. Hardik has a proven record as a T20 skipper, with success at franchise and international levels. Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was the highest run-scorer against Zimbabwe, will not make the cut, with Gill, Jaiswal, and Abhishek all present as openers and Suryakumar Yadav and Rishabh Pant present for No. 3 and 4 spots, respectively.
Predicted India T20I squad for Sri Lanka
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya (c), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar.
India vs Sri Lanka T20I & ODI schedule
| Format | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1st T20I | Pallekele | 27th July |
| 2nd T20I | Pallekele | 28th July |
| 3rd T20I | Pallekele | 30th July |
| 1st ODI | Colombo | 2nd August |
| 2nd ODI | Colombo | 4th August |
| 3rd ODI | Colombo | 7th August |
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