With rumours floating that Hardik Pandya is set to be given the captaincy reins, the outgoing Selection Committee has chosen the bowling all-rounder to lead the side in the upcoming series against Sri Lanka. He has also been chosen as the vice-captain for the ODI series, replacing KL Rahul, as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) begin planning for the future of the team.
Sports Tak had earlier reported that the Board of Control for Cricket in India BCCI has thought of giving Hardik the responsibility of leading India in the ODIs and T20Is. The source who is privy to this massive development said, “BCCI has this plan and have discussed it with him (Hardik). "Let's see what he thinks of it. No decision has been taken regards with this but yes we are in the thought process to give him the captaincy of white-ball cricket. Let's see how things go further."
This will not be his first experience as the skipper of the side, albeit his first time as captain was against minnows Ireland. Hardik was handed the task to spearhead the Indian pack on the Ireland tour, which the Men in Blue won 2-0. His prospects of leading India on significant tours are improved by the fact that he was in charge of the squad during the recently concluded T20I series against New Zealand, which India of 1-0. His deputy will be Suryakumar Yadav, a first for the explosive batter.
Fan favourite Sanju Samson has been included in the T20I side as well, along with Rahul Tripathi. Mukesh Kumar and Shivam Mavi, who bagged big contracts in the Indian Premier League (IPL) mini-auction with Delhi Capitals (DC) and Gujarat Titans (GT) respectively, have also been included in the side and are in line to make their international debuts.
Umran Malik has also been selected for both formats, a big boost for the young pacer.
Kohli has also been rested for the T20I series, along with regular skipper Rohit Sharma, who is yet to recover from the thumb injury that he sustained during India's second ODI against Bangladesh. The duo will return to the side for the ODI series.
In addition to this, veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan has also been dropped from the ODI team. Dhawan recently captained India in the ODI series against New Zealand but the batter's performances raised a lot of questions.
India’s squad for Sri Lanka T20Is
Hardik Pandya (Captain), Suryakumar Yadav (VC), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, 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), Hardik Pandya (VC), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Md. Shami, Md. Siraj, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh
Sri Lanka Tour of India 2023 schedule:
3 January - India vs Sri Lanka 1st T20I, Mumbai
5 January - India vs Sri Lanka 2nd T20I, Pune
7 January - India vs Sri Lanka 3rd T20I, Rajkot
10 January - India vs Sri Lanka 1st ODI, Guwahati
12 January - India vs Sri Lanka 2nd ODI, Kolkata
15 January - India vs Sri Lanka 3rd ODI, Trivandrum
