IND vs SL: Team India ICC T20 Preparation starts from Sri Lanka, youngsters may big role in the series
India will not shy away from trying out different options in the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka, starting Thursday. As the number of contenders for a place in the T20 World Cup in Australia increase later this year.
After a clean sweep of 3-0 against West Indies, the Indian team will now try to teach a tough lesson to Sri Lanka and the Rohit Sharma-led side is also seen as a contender to do the same. But despite the desire to do a clean sweep, the team management will try to give as many opportunities as possible to as many players as possible ahead of the World Cup in Australia in October-November.
In the absence of established players like Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul. The upcoming three matches will certainly see more chances for the likes of Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sanju Samson. In Kohli’s absence, Shreyas Iyer will get an opportunity to play more overs and score big scores to cement his place in the middle order. After the return of Kohli, he is set to play at number three.
Gaikwad and Iyer missed the third T20I against West Indies and would like to make up for it against Sri Lanka. Venkatesh Iyer played the role of ‘finisher’ well against West Indies. If he can improve his bowling a bit. Then India will have a great all-rounder for the World Cup.
IND vs SL Latest News:
Venkatesh’s responsibility has increased with Suryakumar Yadav and Deepak Chahar being ruled out due to injuries. Sanju Samson has also been included in the squad and it will be interesting to see where the team management fits him in the playing XI. Spinner Ravi Bishnoi made an impact against West Indies.
The Indian attack has been strengthened by the return of Jasprit Bumrah in the fast bowling department. Together with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Siraj, he will lead a strong fast bowling attack. Coach Rahul Dravid recently said that he and Rohit have a fairly clear picture of the team composition for the World Cup.
“I think there is a clear picture between me and Rohit and the selectors and the management about it (team composition),” Dravid had said after the clean sweep against the West Indies.
“I don’t think there is a fixed formula. But we are pretty clear (for the T20 World Cup) on the combination and balance.
We are building the team around this and balancing the workload of the players.” As per diggingsports.in Dravid said, “We have a clear opinion on what kind of skills we need for Australia, based on which we are moving forward. We haven’t set any fixed criteria but we want to give fair chance to everyone.”
As far as Sri Lanka is concerned, they had to face a 1-4 loss against Australia recently. His batsmen could not perform as expected in any match.
IND vs SL T20I Series
Captain Dasun Shanaka will be hopeful that his batsmen will do well on Indian pitches in favourable conditions. In the bowling department, Sri Lanka will miss leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, who is yet to recover from the COVID-19 infection.
India T20I squad:
Rohit Sharma (c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Avesh Khan
Sri Lanka Squad For The 3-match T20I Series vs India:
Dasun Shanaka – Captain, Pathum Nissanka Kusal Mendis, Charith Asalanka –Vice-Captain, Dinesh Chandimal, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kamil Mishara, Janith Liyanage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Kumara, Binura Fernando, Shiran Fernando, Maheesh Theekshana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Praveen Jayawickrama Ashian Daniel – Subjected to Ministerial approval.
The match will start at 7 pm Indian time.