KL Rahul Or Hardik Pandya To Lead India In ODI Series Vs Sri Lanka: Reports
Hardik Pandya during the 2024 T20 World Cup (x.com)
KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya have emerged as leading candidates to lead the Indian cricket team in the upcoming ODI series in Sri Lanka. The ‘Men in Blue’ are scheduled to face Sri Lanka in a series of three ODIs and as many T20I matches between July and August.
As per reports, senior Indian players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah will likely be rested from the tour.
KL Rahul or Hardik Pandya to lead India for SL ODIs
As reported by the PTI, dashing top-order batter KL Rahul and ace all-rounder Hardik Pandya are considered as leading candidates to lead the Indian team in the ODI segment of the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka.
The aforementioned reports emerged after several news outlets speculated that senior pros like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah will be rested from India’s two-week long tour.
"In Rohit's absence, Pandya looks the most likely choice but KL Rahul, who led the ODI squad in South Africa can't be ruled out either," the PTI report read.
A BCCI official recently confirmed that Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah will be joining the Indian team for a two-match Test series against Bangladesh later this year.
Notably, Kohli and Sharma also announced their respective retirements from T20I cricket following the conclusion of last month’s T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies.
Hardik Pandya was part of India’s triumphant T20 World Cup winning group at Barbados, while KL Rahul last played an international match for Team India back in January this year against England at Hyderabad. Rahul played the last of his 75 ODI matches at Paarl in December 2023.