 "India tour of Sri Lanka 2024: What to expect from Men in Blue's white-ball squads")
India’s tour of Zimbabwe came to an end on Sunday with a 42-run victory for the Men in Blue that helped them complete a clinical 4-1 victory in the five-match T20I series. It was India’s first assignment after their triumph in the T20 World Cup, and they were expected to boss their way through the tour despite fielding a second-string team that was missing nearly every player who was part of the XI in the US and the Caribbean.
Barring a blip in the form of a shock 13-run loss in the opening game, the tour largely went as planned for the Shubman Gill-led side, with the likes of Abhishek Sharma getting their international career off to a flying start . And with the Zimbabwe trip done, it’s time to shift our attention to India’s next tour — that of neighbours Sri Lanka later this month, the squads for which will likely be announced on Tuesday.
The Sri Lanka tour will be an important one and it’s not just because of the fact that several seniors will be returning to action after skipping the Zimbabwe tour; it will also mark the beginning of a new era with Gautam Gambhir set to begin his tenure as the new head coach after taking over from Rahul Dravid.
In our build-up to the upcoming tour, we take a look at the likely changes in the T20I lineup and what the ODI combination could look like:
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The biggest change as far as the shortest format is concerned will be in the leadership group. Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have quit the T20I format, in which they had made their comeback in January earlier this year, and signed off on a high with the triumph in Barbados on 29 June. And with the two stalwarts walking into the sunset, the question arises as to who takes over the reins of the side.
Hardik Pandya had been leading the T20I team for a majority of their assignments after both Rohit and Kohli had stepped away from the format after the semi-final exit from the previous T20 World Cup in 2022.
Later, Suryakumar Yadav had been named his deputy in the shortest format as a reward for his consistency with the bat. And as far as the journey to the next T20 World Cup in 2026 is concerned, the BCCI might just be interested in having Pandya and Surya back in charge of the side, with Gambhir as the head coach this time instead of Dravid.
As for the team combination itself, it will be difficult for the team leadership to look past the trio of Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Abhishek Sharma for the top three, all of whom had been in stellar form in the Zimbabwe tour.
Two of them will be directly replacing Rohit and Kohli, who had opened in the World Cup, after their retirement, and Jaiswal and Abhishek might just be the ideal candidates for this role while Gill might drop to No 3 and push wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, who had batted at one-down in the World Cup, further down the batting order.
The middle order picks itself with SKY and skipper Pandya returning to the No 4 and 5 slots and Pant might just occupy the No 6 position that had gone to Shivam Dube in the US and the Caribbean.
Whether Pant bats in the middle order or at three will ultimately depend on the team combination, that is if the Men in Blue decide to play an extra all-rounder in their XI. There’s also the question of slotting proven finisher Rinku Singh back into the full-strength XI after he was overlooked for the World Cup, and his inclusion could come at the cost of an all-rounder or force Pant back to the top three, which will then likely see Abhishek on the bench.
As for the bowling combination, the pace unit also picks itself with Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh leading the attack, and Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel as their primary spin options.
Ravindra Jadeja’s retirement from the format, however, opens up a world of possibilities and this could be an opportunity for leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal to fight his back into the team after having been benched throughout the World Cup. That is if the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel picks him over Ravi Bishnoi, who was in fine form in the Zimbabwe series.
There’s also off-spin-bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar fighting for that spot, and his stellar run in the Zimbabwe tour, in which he was adjudged the Player of the Series, also makes him a strong candidate.
From the rest of the squad that won the series in Zimbabwe, wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson, and pacer Mukesh Kumar are likely to get included as backup options for the Sri Lanka tour, the latter having finished as the highest wicket-taker in the southern African nation with a haul of 4/22 in the fifth T20I.
ODIs: Iyer or Rahul likely to make white-ball returns, possible leadership options
The ODI series that gets underway on 2 August will be India’s first assignment of the year in the 50-over format. And the squad that the selectors pick for the one-day assignment will largely depend on Rohit and Kohli’s inclination to travel to Sri Lanka.
Given how much time has passed since India last played the format — in their tour of South Africa last December — picking the squad for the Sri Lanka ODIs will be slightly trickier given the selectors won’t have current form in that format for reference and will have to make their picks based on recent T20I performances.
The first question is that of picking the leader if Rohit doesn’t turn up, and the Agarkar-led panel could either continue with KL Rahul, who led the Men in Blue to a 2-1 victory in South Africa last year or pick Shreyas Iyer for that role.
Iyer just gave his leadership credentials a major boost by leading the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their third IPL title earlier in the summer, and though his place in the Indian T20I team is doubtful, the Mumbaikar might just position himself as the ideal candidate to take over from Rohit should the ‘Hitman’ decide to call it quits from the sport in a year or two.
As for the combination itself, India had gone with B Sai Sudharsan as their opener in South Africa, with Ruturaj Gaikwad as his opening partner in two out of the three games. While Gill is expected to open in the ODIs, it remains to be seen if the selectors pick Sudharsan, who finished as Gujarat Titans’ leading run-scorer in the IPL earlier this year, or hand Jaiswal his ODI debut.
Samson had famously scored his maiden international hundred in the series decider in Paarl, and his inclusion at that spot would then have Iyer, Rahul and Pant — who will be playing his first ODI since November 2022 — in the middle order.
As for the bowling unit, Mohammed Siraj is likely to open the bowling with Bumrah, the former having an outstanding record against Sri Lanka, and there could be a toss-up between Arshdeep and Mukesh for the third seamer’s spot. Kuldeep and Axar might continue in the spin department with Sundar the likely pick for the third spinner’s role.
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