The All-India Senior Selection Committee on Tuesday announced 16-member India’s squad for the upcoming Sri Lanka Tour of India in January 2023. The tour comprises three matches T20 series and the ODI series. Hardik Pandya will lead India in T20Is, while Rohit Sharma will present as a captain in ODIs.
This is the second consecutive series where Hardik will be leading India in T20Is in the absence of Rohit Sharma. Earlier, the 29-year-old all-rounder had led India in New Zealand in November soon after concluding the T20 World Cup 2022.
The T20Is will begin on January 3rd in Mumbai, followed by Pune and Rajkot, while the ODIs will start on January 10 in Guwahati, and will conclude in Trivandrum followed by Kolkata.
Mavi, and Mukesh called up for T20Is; Pant omitted
UP’s seamer Shivam Mavi and Bengali pacer Mukesh Kumar received their first T20I enlistments. Last Friday, the capless duo signed a huge deal at the IPL 2023 Mini Auction. Mavi was signed by defending champions Gujarat Titans for Rs 6 crore, while Mukesh Kumar was sold to Delhi Capitals for his Rs 5.5 crore.
Ruturaj Gaikwad has also returned to the team after a successful national T20 and one-day tournament.
On the other hand, Rishabhupunt, who served as India’s vice-captain in T20Is during the recent New Zealand tour, has been left out of the 16-man squad. In Absence of Pants, Suryakumar Yadav has been promoted.
KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar have also been outlined from the T20I series. Youngsters Ashdeep Singh and Umran Malik are expected to take charge in the place of Bhuvaneshwar.
Coming to the ODIs squad, India’s top-ranked opener Sikhar Dhawan has been dropped from the ODI squad after suffering a losing streak in the recent series. Dhawan has been leading India’s second team against South Africa and New Zealand in late 2022 but has been unable to fulfil his leadership role at the helm of the order.
While Rahul and Kohli will return alongside Rohit in the ODIs, seamer Mohammed Shami will also make his comeback after a shoulder injury that he suffered in early December.
Here’s the full squad for T20Is & ODIs at home against Sri Lanka
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.
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