India vs Sri Lanka team: Dhawan captain, Hardik at 5 but will best spinner make the ODI 11?
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Shreyas Iyer's injury
Cricket is quickly entering a new reality. Keeping pace with the new normal, there are alternate realities to tend to. One India in white playing with a red cherry. The other India in blue playing with a white ball. One India in Britain contesting to earn the outright bragging right to be acclaimed as the first ever World Test Champion. The other India in Sri Lanka preparing to tighten themselves with an ICC tournament beckoning to quench the painful thirst for an elusive crown. This is a fascinating, singular, and unchartered territory for the modern fan.
That India vs Sri Lanka will not just be a senior team series in essence but also one in manifestation speaks volumes of India’s depth of quality cricketers in the circuit currently. In the aforementioned Britain trip, India is carrying with them 20 players in the squad and a further 4 as standbys. Despite that, the squad scheduled to play the three match ODI series in Sri Lanka starting on July 13 will be considerably strong. Perhaps even favourites to win too.
Here are the men who will be missing from the India vs Sri Lanka series – Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, and Arzan Nagwaswalla.
A look at the names suggests that India can still avail the services of some of their white ball specialists, barring injury doubts. A notable absentee will be Shreyas Iyer who underwent a surgery on his left shoulder in early April and is believed to be out for 5 months. However, he has started his recovery earlier than expected, but one feels that the India vs Sri Lanka series will be too early for him to stage a comeback.
So, how will India’s ODI team shape up in his absence – we take a look!
India vs Sri Lanka team for ODI – openers
Shikhar Dhawan is expected to open the batting as he was in terrific form before the IPL had to be suspended. He is still India’s first choice opening batsman in the ODI format and will cherish this opportunity to be the most experienced player in the line-up. It is felt as though India should look beyond him in the ODI format with an eye on the 2023 World Cup and Dhawan – who should also captain the team – might want to prove them wrong.
Prithvi Shaw, the man who might stake a claim to Dhawan’s spot in the future will be his opening partner in the India vs Sri Lanka team. Devdutt Padikkal is also in with a shout but given Shaw’s sparkling return to form and relative seniority, he is likely to get the nod.
India vs Sri Lanka team for ODI – top order
Suryakumar Yadav has waited long and hard for his India call-up. Once in, he has shown exactly how capable and at home he is at the international level. He is personally in perhaps the best batting form of his life and at 30, perhaps at the peak of his powers too. The Mumbai Indians player will bat at 3 in case Iyer misses out – which is the likelier possibility.
At number 4 will be a similarly talented stroke maker who is easy on the eye and has an almost non-chalant elegance in going about his business. Sanju Samson will, although, aim to make consistent runs in this series instead of his usual boom and bust style.
India vs Sri Lanka team for ODI – wicket keeper
Ishan Kishan will be the wicketkeeper in the India vs Sri Lanka team. The southpaw was impressive in the India vs England T20 series and given his likeness to Rishabh Pant, the Indian team management would be keen on giving him the responsibility behind the stumps too.
India vs Sri Lanka team for ODI – all rounders
The Pandya brothers – Hardik and Krunal – will be all rounders in this team. The younger sibling should be able to bowl a couple of overs in the India vs Sri Lanka series after not being fit enough to roll his arm in the recently suspended IPL.
Krunal will be tasked with sharing the bulk of the fifth bowler’s responsibility while finishing the innings with the bat. The left-handed player showed brief glimpses of his ability in the series against England and will aim to consolidate the good start against a comparatively weaker Sri Lanka team.
There could a possibility that Hardik bats ahead of Ishan Kishan in the batting order.
India vs Sri Lanka team for ODI – bowlers
India is likely to pick three pacers as Krunal will be the fifth bowler and Hardik may not contribute with too many overs. In that case, the three quicks in the India vs Sri Lanka will likely be Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Navdeep Saini. It is imperative for Bhuvi to play as many games as possible ahead of the T20 World Cup as he is a key cog in the Indian wheel.
As for Chahar, he will most likely share the new ball with Bhuvi. The Chennai Super Kings seamer was in wicket-taking form in the IPL, swinging the ball in the Power Play and picking up 4 wickets on two separate occasions.
Saini, meanwhile, did not get a look in for RCB in the IPL but has been a part of the Indian fold for a while now. He has the pace to trouble batsmen in the middle overs and should come in first change for India. However, if India do decide to go in with two pure spinners, he is the likeliest to miss out.
Yuzvendra Chahal will be India’s lead spinner and must play all three games to prepare himself for the T20 World Cup. After some inconsistent showings, he was finding form in the IPL and is a key man for India. In case, India plays another spinner, the nod could go to Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav given Rahul Chahar is also a leg spinner.
India vs Sri Lanka ODI team: Shikhar Dhawan (C), Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav, Samju Samson, Ishan Kishan (WK), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal
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Arinjay Ghosh
(77 Articles Published)