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Gambhir To Drop Pant For KKR's Iyer, Harshit Rana To Debut; India's Strongest XI For SL ODIs

Iyer might get the nod ahead of Pant in ODIs [X]Iyer might get the nod ahead of Pant in ODIs [X]

On Thursday, Ajit Agarkar-led BCCI selection committee announced a robust 15-member squad for the upcoming ODI series against Sri Lanka. 

While the legendary duo of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli returned to the ODI setup, questions were raised over Sanju Samson's exclusion.

Barring Kohli and Rohit, experienced batters KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer were also included in the team, with keeper-batter Rishabh Pant receiving his long-awaited ODI recall. 

Young pacer Harshit Rana was also rewarded for his consistency, earning his maiden ODI call-up. 

So, before the series begins, let's analyse and find India's strongest playing XI for the three-match leg.


Top-order: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli

Skipper Rohit Sharma will open the batting alongside his deputy, Shubman Gill, while Virat Kohli will bat at his preferred number three position. 

Rohit and Gill provide India with a dynamic opening pair, while Kohli's remarkable consistency makes him the most valuable asset at the top order. 


Upper Middle order: Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul

Although Rishabh Pant has been included in the squad, he might miss out on selection, with India likely to prefer Shreyas Iyer as their number-four batter. 

Iyer has been exceptional at that position in the 50-over format, amassing 2383 runs at a superb average of 49.65 and a blistering strike rate of 101.27. 

Therefore, it definitely makes sense to slot Iyer at number four, especially if KL Rahul is there as the designated wicket-keeper at number five. 


All-rounders: Shivam Dube, Axar Patel

India have three allrounders- Shivam Dube, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar- in their squad; however, only two of them will make it into the final XI. 

Considering Dube's power-hitting prowess, India will likely use him as their seam bowling allrounder in Hardik Pandya's absence.

Meanwhile, Axar Patel, who struck a blazing knock in the T20 World Cup final, will be India's first-choice spin bowling allrounder. 


Bowlers: Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana

India's wrecker-in-chief in the middle overs, Kuldeep Yadav, will lead their spin attack alongside Axar. 

Meanwhile, Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh will form a lethal new ball bowling pair for the Men in Blue. 

As Arshdeep will play as the left-arm swing bowler, India might hand debut ODI cap to Harshit Rana, who can be a fantastic third seamer with his high pace hit-the-deck bowling. 


India's strongest playing XI for SL ODIs

Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana