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India’s ODI and Test skipper Rohit Sharma who was originally excused from tour of Sri Lanka has accepted newly-appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir’s request. Gambhir had urged senior players Rohit, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah to make themselves available for the ODI series against Sri Lanka next month as India don’t have many ODI series ahead of ICC Champions Trophy.
Earlier, KL Rahul was the potential candidate to lead India in the three-ODI series but as per a report by Hindustan Times, Rohit has agreed to tour Sri Lanka. Rohit joined the virtual meeting from the US where he is on a vacation with his family.
No Kohli, Bumrah on Sri Lanka tour
Meanwhile, Bumrah and Kohli are set to miss the ODI series. They will return to international cricket in the two-Test series at home against Bangladesh which is a part of current World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle. Also, Hardik Pandya has pulled out of the ODI series citing personal reasons.
In addition, Shreyas Iyer is set to return to the team as well. Iyer’s last ODI appearance was on December 17, 2023 against South Africa. He played just one ODI in the three-ODI series under Rahul’s leadership.
Surya ahead of Hardik in T20I captaincy race
The ODI series will be played from August 2 to 7. Before the ODI series, India will play a three-T20I series which will commence on July 27. India are yet to announce Rohit’s successor as T20I captain after his retirement following T20 World Cup 2024 triumph in Barbados. Currently, Suryakumar Yadav is leading the race ahead of all-rounder Pandya who was vice-captain in T20 World Cup 2024.
Suryakumar led India in T20Is when the all-rounder got injured in ODI World Cup 2023 clash against Bangladesh and was ruled out of action for months. He led India in seven games, winning five of them.
On the other hand, the Baroda all-rounder was made captain after India’s T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final exit. He led India to 10 wins out of 16 games but injury played a big role in him getting sidelined.
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