After the triumph at the T20 World Cup and similar success in Zimbabwe, the Men in Blue will face a new challenger against well known foes, Sri Lanka from July 27 onwards. Notably, this series will mark the official start of Gautam Gambhir’s tenure as the India head coach while attempts are still underway to figure out the next generation of players who will replace Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja.
Who will find a place in India’s 15-member squad for Sri Lanka?
While Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja have already retired from the T20 format, reports suggest that BCCI is also in the mood to give ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah an extended break.
Meanwhile, apart from these players, all other players of the T20 World Cup winning team, including Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, and Mohammad Siraj are likely to make a comeback in the 15 member squad.
Moreover, players like Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson, Rinku Singh, Avesh Khan and Mukesh Kumar who showed their mettled in the recently concluded series against the Minnows may also find a berth in India’s squad for Sri Lanka series.
India vs Sri Lanka T20 schedule:
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had recently announced changes to the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka. The series will now start on July 27. All three T20Is will be held at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. The second match will be held on July 28 and the third on July 30.
Meanahile, the ODI series will now commence from August 2, with the second and third ODIs slated to be held on August 4 and August 7.
The first ODI cricket match will be held at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo. Premadasa will also host the remaining two ODI matches between India and Sri Lanka.