Star batter Suryakumar Yadav will lead Team India in the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka, as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squad on Thursday. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma will be leading the ODI side.
T20I scene
Shubman Gill who led the Men in Blue in the recently concluded T20I series against Zimbabwe, will be Suryakumar Yadav’s deputy in the forthcoming three-match 20-over series against Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, star India all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who last led the team was not given the responsibility to lead the side.
Pacers Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, and wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant were also called in the T20I squad after they were given rest for India’s tour of Zimbabwe.
ODI scene
Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul made comebacks in the ODI squad for the Men in Blue’s upcoming series against Sri Lanka.
Shreyas Iyer, who was omitted from the BCCI central contract, was also named in the ODI squad. Iyer, recently led the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to victory in the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) under the mentorship of Gautam Gambhir, who is on his first assignment as head coach of Team India.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who announced their retirement from T20 cricket, will be seen playing together in the 50-over series.
Shubman Gill was also named Rohit Sharma’s deputy in the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, Riyan Parag and Harshit Rana received their maiden call-ups to the ODI squad.
The India’s tour of Sri Lanka will be starting from July 27 onwards. The tour will kick-start with a three-match T20I series, followed by a three-match ODI series, which will start from August 1.
The Pallekele International Stadium will be hosting the T20I leg of the series while the R Premadasa is getting to host the 50-over matches, as per ESPNCricinfo.
The three T20Is will be held on July 27, July 28 and July 30.
Both teams will be taking to the field with new head coaches. While legendary all-rounder Sanath Jayasuriya has been named as the interim head coach for Lankan Lions, this will also be the first assignment for former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir as the head coach, succeeding the T20 World Cup-winning coach Rahul Dravid.
India’s last tour of Sri Lanka for a bilateral white-ball series came back in July 2021, with Dravid coaching the Shikhar Dhawan-led side. India won the ODI series 2-1, while Sri Lanka secured the T20I series by the same margin.
This will be India’s second T20I series after their T20 World Cup win, defeating South Africa by seven runs in the final. The Men in Blue recently defeated Zimbabwe by 4-1 in the 5-match T20I series.
India’s T20I Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), duhubman 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, and Mohd. Siraj.
ODI Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.
