After the retirement of legendary Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma from T20Is, a new era begins for Indian cricket under the leadership of Suryakumar Yadav and the guidance of head coach Gautam Gambhir. After consulting with the selectors, the BCCI has decided to appoint Suryakumar Yadav as the captain of India in the T20I format. Rohit will continue as the captain in the ODIs and Tests for India. After a successful stint as a mentor for KKR and LSG, BCCI has decided to appoint Gautam Gambhir as Rahul Dravid’s successor. This will be the first series for Gambhir and Surya as the head coach and captain.
India will be playing three T20Is and three ODIs against Sri Lanka in the island nation. After the retirement of Virat and Rohit, this is a transition period for Team India in T20Is. As far as the selection is concerned, several young talents have been included in the squad, keeping the future in mind. Shubman Gill has been named vice-captain in all three formats, potentially grooming the youngster for the leadership role in the future. The likes of Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj got back in the squad after a much-needed break. Notably, Yuzvendra Chahal and Ruturaj Gaikwad have not been selected in the T20I squad. Chahal’s omission has been curious; he has been performing well for India and in the IPL and is one of the leading wicket-takers in the history of the IPL, but the selectors may have a different perspective.
Coming into the ODIs, India will be playing three ODIs against host Sri Lanka. Senior pros Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have returned to the squad. KL Rahul manages to hold his place, and Shreyas Iyer makes a comeback in the Indian team after being denied the central contract. On the other hand, Sri Lanka has a new T20I captain as Wanindu Hasaranga stepped down after the T20 World Cup debacle. The selectors have put faith in Charith Asalanka as the new skipper for this T20I series.
Before leaving for Sri Lanka, Gautam Gambhir and Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar held a press conference in Mumbai. They were asked about the availability of seniors Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the future. Gambhir said, “They have shown what they can deliver on the big stage. Whether it is the T20 World Cup or the ODI World Cup, I think both of them have a lot more cricket left in them. We’ve got the Champions Trophy, a tour of Australia, so they will be motivated. If they keep their fitness, then even the 2027 World Cup.”
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The T20I series will start on July 27 and the final T20I will be played on July 30 at Pallekele. The ODI series will be played in Colombo starting from August 2. The Sony Liv App will be live-streaming the series. Additionally, Sony Sports Ten 5 and Sony Sports Ten 1 in English, Sony Sports Ten 3 in Hindi, and Sony Sports Ten 4 in Tamil and Telugu will telecast the series. The T20Is will start at 7 PM (IST) and the ODIs at 2:30 PM (IST).
For further details, you can refer to the Cricbuzz websites.
