India are set to begin its T20 cricket after the retirement of three of their greatest players. Suryakumar Yadav will herald the birth of a new era after Rohit Sharma along with Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja decided to retire from the format. The newly crowned T20 World Cup winners will want to start on the front foot.
This is also the first-ever series for Gautam Gambhir who has been named the Indian coach till 2027. The former Kolkata Knight Riders skipper and mentor will want to use the same tactics that helped KKR win the IPL 2024 title.
All three T20I matches will be played in Pallekele on Saturday 27th July. The second game of the series will be played the following day on 28th of July. The final game of the series will be held on 30th July before the ODI series begins.
Here is the likely Indian XI for the 1st T20I versus Sri Lanka:
Openers – Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal
India will be opening the batting with vice-captain Shubman Gill and young explosive opener Yashasvi Jaiswal. The duo batted well during the recent series against Zimbabwe and put the bowlers under pressure. It is also a great chance for young Yashasvi Jaiswal to play against better-skilled bowlers.
Middle-order- Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, and Rinku Singh
Batting at number 3 will be the new Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav. The 33-year-old hasn’t been in the best of form with the bat in recent times. The tour of Sri Lanka will also give Yadav a chance to make it back to the ODI team. Rishabh Pant and Rinku Singh will also look to make use of the chance with the bat. Rinku Singh in particular will look to score runs and get back to prime form that he had shown earlier this year.
All-Rounders – Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, and Washington Sundar
Hardik Pandya will be the key with the bat and ball as the 30-year-old has a huge point to prove. Axar Patel has replaced Ravindra Jadeja and his exploits during the finals of the T20 World Cup will give him huge confidence with the bat and ball. Washington Sundar will be a key player and his form with the ball will be important considering that Sri Lanka has a lot of left-handed batters at the top.
Bowlers – Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, and Mohammed Siraj
The pace bowling department will be on the shoulders of young Arshdeep Singh who has been known to be a good proponent with the new ball and with the old ball. Mohammed Siraj has a great record in Sri Lanka and the last time the two sides played each other in Sri Lanka he picked 6/21. The spin department will be dependent on Ravi Bishnoi who was India’s best bowler in Zimbabwe.
India’s XI versus Sri Lanka
Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, Rinku Singh, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, and Mohammed Siraj.
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