Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar opens up on the hype around new head coach Gautam Gambhir ahead of the upcoming Sri Lanka series. Team India will play three T20Is followed by three ODIs against the island nation scheduled to start from July 27. This series will be the first assignment for Gambhir as the head coach of Men in Blue.
Manjrekar said that the team is more important than the coach, with the coach having very little influence on the team. The former cricketer took his ‘X’ formerly known as Twitter to take a dig on the hype around Gautam Gambhir.
"No coach, Lalchand Rajput, Gary Kirsten & Dravid. Coaches when India won WCs in 1983, 2007, 2011 & 2023. It’s really about Indian cricket, not who the coach is. Time we stop thinking there is a direct correlation" posted Manjrekar.
After Rohit Sharma's retirement, Suryakumar Yadav will lead India in the T20I series where Shubman Gill will be his deputy. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma has made a comeback in ODIs, this will be the first time since ODI World Cup 2023 that Rohit Sharma will feature in an ODI.
Coming back to T20Is, Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka has won the toss on the first T20I and opted to bowl first against India at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele.
India vs Sri Lanka playing XI for first T20I
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis(w), Kusal Perera, Kamindu Mendis, Charith Asalanka(c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Dasun Shanaka, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka
India (Playing XI): Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Riyan Parag, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj.
Suryakumar Yadav at toss: It (the pitch) looks good and it is fine to bat first. The brand of cricket remains the same. The relationship me and him (Gambhir) have had for so many years is special. Dube, Samson, Khaleel and Washington are the four players to miss out. That (World Cup) is history, we start from scratch and it is a new challenge.
Charith Asalanka at toss: We are going to bowl first. It looks like a pretty good pitch and we want to see how it goes. We are going with 6-5 (batters-bowlers) combination. I want to give every player a specific roles and that;s why we are going with 5 bowlers. You can expect more wins and more consistency.
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