India’s squad announcement for the upcoming Sri Lanka tour had a lot of talking points. It is Gautam Gambhir’s first assignment as the head coach and the selection has already led to everyone talking.
Much to everyone’s surprise, Suryakumar Yadav has been appointed the captain of the T20 team. Furthermore, Shubman Gill has been selected as the vice-captain. Post the T20 World Cup triumph, the Indian giants Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli announced their retirement from the shortest format.
Hardik Pandya was the team’s vice-captain during the T20 World Cup 2024 and was supposed to take over the reins from Rohit Sharma. However, the baton has been handed to Suryakumar Yadav.
Suryakumar has outstanding numbers in T20 cricket. In 68 T20Is, he has 2340 runs at an average and a strike rate of 43.44 and 167.74, respectively. However, making him the captain took everyone by surprise.
Having said that, Suryakumar Yadav isn’t part of the squad for the ODI series. It is fair to say that he hasn’t done justice to the opportunities presented to him in the 50-over format and hence, his exclusion. Looking at the current selection, it has been quite clear that selection has been made largely based on performances.
Although, not giving Hardik captaincy has attracted a fair share of criticism. For the unversed, India are only scheduled to play six ODIs before participating in the ICC Champions Trophy next year.
As per a report by the Indian Express, SRH all-rounder Nitish Reddy might get a look in shortly due to his ability to contribute in all facets of the game. Hardik Pandya is a mainstay in white-ball cricket but isn’t part of the ODI squad for the upcoming series. The management is yet to comment on the reason behind the same and he is expected to be back in the next series.
Here’s a look at the India squads for the ODI and T20 series:
India’s ODI Squad vs Sri Lanka: Rohit Sharma (capt), Ꮪhubman Gill (vice-capt), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.
India’s T20I Squad vs 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, Mohd. Siraj.
