India’s Squads For Mastercard Sri Lanka Tour Of India Announced

The All-India Senior Selection Committee has chosen the squads for India’s upcoming Mastercard Sri Lanka Tour of India, which will take place in January 2023. The tour includes three T20Is and three ODIs.
The BCCI announced on Tuesday that star all-rounder Hardik Pandya will lead India in the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka, which begins on January 3, and that opener Rohit Sharma will return for the three ODIs that follow.

The experienced players Rohit, Virat Kohli, and Rahul did not make the T20I squad, but they have all been called up for the ODI series, which begins on January 10. On the other hand, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who had knee surgery, and pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who missed the T20 World Cup  with back injury, have not been included in both the squads.

Meanwhile, veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan was dropped from the ODI squad following a poor performance in Bangladesh. Dhawan has struggled with his ODI form this year, and his average of 34.40 and strike rate of 74.21 in 2022 are the lowest he has recorded since his comeback in 2013.

Rishabh Pant, on the other hand, was not named to either the ODI or T20I squads, and the BCCI media release did not specify whether he was injured, rested, or dropped. The wicketkeeper-batter did not play in the one-day internationals in Bangladesh before returning for the two-match Test series.

Another notable absence is pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who returned for ODIs after missing the 50-over match series against Bangladesh.

Interestingly, despite KL Rahul’s presence in the squad, Hardik, who will lead India again in the shortest format after being named skipper for the series in New Zealand immediately following the T20 World Cup, has been elevated as the vice-captain in the 50 over format. Suryakumar Yadav, a middle-order batter, will be Hardik’s replacement in the T20I squad.

Uncapped pacers Shivam Mavi and Mukesh Kumar have also been named to the squad for the three-match T20I series. Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rahul Tripathi have replaced Shreyas Iyer in the T20I squad.

Shivam Mavi was the only surprise call-up, receiving his first call-up to the national squad. The 24-year-old UP pacer was named to the T20I squad.

While Washington Sundar, Axar Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal are part of both the squads, Kuldeep Yadav finds place only in the ODI side.

India’s squad for Sri Lanka T20Is: Hardik Pandya (Captain), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (VC), Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, Mukesh Kumar.

India’s squad for Sri Lanka ODIs: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya (VC), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh.