The Indian men’s cricket team will face Sri Lanka in a three-match T20I series that starts on July 27 in Pallekele. The BCCI took to X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday (July 18) to announce India’s 15-member squad for the upcoming three matches. Former world No. 1 T20I batter Suryakumar Yadav was appointed as India’s new captain for the bilateral series over star all-rounder Hardik Pandya, and young opening batter Shubman Gill, who led India in five T20Is against Zimbabwe, was named as the new vice captain.
In the team announced for the away series against Sri Lanka, which failed to qualify for the Super 8s of the T20 World Cup 2024, India has included as many as nine members from the T20 World Cup 2024 winning team, but many star players who performed well against Zimbabwe in the recently concluded series were ignored, which has raised a few eyebrows.
Ahead of the start of the T20I series against Sri Lanka, here’s a look at the complete list of changes in the Indian team for the upcoming assignment:
OUT: Abhishek Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Dhruv Jurel, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande, and Avesh Khan played in at least two matches each in the T20I series against Zimbabwe earlier this month, but despite making the most of the opportunity, they were dropped from the Indian team picked for the Sri Lankan tour. Abhishek, Gaikwad, and Mukesh’s exclusion came as a surprise for many because the trio was among the top performers in the India-Zimbabwe series. While Abhishek scored a century in just 46 balls during the 2nd T20I, Gaikwad amassed a total of 133 runs in three innings of four matches against the Sikandar Raza-led side. Mukesh, on the other hand, picked up four wickets in the last match to finish the series with eight wickets in three matches.
IN: T20 World Cup winners Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, and Mohammed Siraj are back in the Indian team for the Sri Lanka series. Surya will lead the side in three T20Is. He had earlier served as Indian captain in the five-match T20I series against Australia and two T20Is against South Africa last year. In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, who has reportedly been rested, Arshdeep will lead the pace attack and have Siraj for support.
Players retained: Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, and Khaleel Ahmed are nine players from India’s tour of Zimbabwe that have managed to retain their place in the side for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka.
India’s squad for the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Ꮪhubman Gill (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammed Siraj.
India’s likely playing XI for the T20I series against Sri Lanka: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant (WK), Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj
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