India's limited-overs squads for Sri Lanka tour announced: Key takeaways
The Ajit Agarkar-led men's senior selection committee announced Team India's ODI and T20I squads for the Sri Lanka tour on July 18. Senior players Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Rishabh Pant return to the ODI setup, while Suryakumar Yadav has been named India's T20I captain. This also marks the beginning of India's newly-appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir's journey. Here are the key takeaways.
Suryakumar's appointment as T20I captain
The biggest takeaway from the announcement is Suryakumar's appointment as T20I captain. He gets the nod ahead of Hardik Pandya, who was India's vice-captain under the Rohit reign. Hardik's fitness issues are believed to have prompted the selectors to choose Suryakumar for the role. SKY continues to be India's top-ranked batter in the shortest format. His ability to go 360 degrees stands out.
Return of captain Rohit, Kohli, and Pant to ODI fold
The ODI squad sees the return of seniors Kohli, Rohit, and Rishabh. It was speculated that Rohit and Kohli might miss the Sri Lanka tour following a grueling ICC T20 World Cup-winning campaign. However, the duo would get a hang of ODIs before the all-important Champions Trophy. Meanwhile, Pant hasn't played the format since featuring in the 2022 New Zealand series.
Bumrah rested; Hardik to miss ODIs
Jasprit Bumrah, the Player of the Tournament (T20 World Cup), has been rested for the entire tour. Besides, all-rounder Hardik will miss the ODI leg owing to personal reasons. Notably, the selectors have picked all-rounder Shivam Dube for both ODIs and T20Is.
Shreyas Iyer returns!
Shreyas Iyer, whose BCCI central contract got terminated earlier this year, returns to the ODI squad. The middle-order batter led Kolkata Knight Riders to their third Indian Premier League title this year. Notably, Gambhir was the side's mentor. Iyer had a stellar 2023 World Cup campaign, where he hammered 530 runs at an incredible average of 66.25 (two tons).
Riyan Parag, Harshit Rana rewarded
Riyan Parag, who made his international debut in the recently-concluded Zimbabwe T20I series, has been rewarded for his run. The batting all-rounder finds a spot in both ODI and T20I squads. Notably, Riyan was the highest run-scorer in the Deodhar Trophy and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Harshit Rana, champions KKR's joint-highest wicket-taker in IPL 2024, has also been picked for SL ODIs.
A look at other notable takeaways
It is interesting to note that Shubman Gill is now India's vice-captaincy in both T20I and ODI cricket. He recently led India to a 4-1 T20I series win in Zimbabwe. The likes of Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, and Khaleel Ahmed have been included in both the formats. Abhishek Sharma, who smashed a ton in the Zimbabwe T20I series, hasn't been picked.
India's T20I squad for SL series
India's T20I squad: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, and Mohahmmed Siraj.
India's ODI squad for SL series
India's ODI squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wicket-keeper), Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, and Harshit Rana.
