India squad announced for white-ball series against Sri Lanka; Rohit, Virat rested for T20Is


image-lc6gzdzyVirat, KL Rahul and Rohit will miss the T20I series [Associated Press]

The Board of Control for Cricket in India have announced the squad for the white-ball series against Sri Lanka, starting next month.

In what was on the cards, Hardik Pandya will be leading the T20I team against the Asian champions, while Rohit Sharma will be back to take over the reigns in the ODI leg of the tour.

Apart from Rohit, the likes of KL Rahul and Virat Kohli will also miss the T20I leg of the tour but are in the squad for the 50-over format.


Suryakumar Yadav will be the deputy of Pandya in the T20I series and the squad also includes the likes of Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rahul Tripathi who will fight it out for the opening slot.

However, shockingly, India have dropped Shikhar Dhawan and Rishabh Pant from their white-ball squads. These two players were going through a rough patch, which has probably led to their exclusion. 

Sanju Samson gets yet another opportunity to showcase his talent in the shortest format of the game. Bengal pacer, Mukesh Kumar and Shivam Mavi are surprise inclusions in the squad. 

The likes of Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, and Arshdeep Singh all retain their place from the previous New Zealand tour.

As far as the ODI leg of the tour is concerned, India's core will make a return. Shubman Gill, who missed out on the Bangladesh ODI series has made his way back in the side. But with KL Rahul in the side, it is highly unlikely that Gill will open the innings alongside Rohit.

India have gone with the spin trio of Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, and Axar Patel in the side, while Mohammed Siraj, who has done well recently earns his place once again.

Unlike the T20I squad, there are no notable inclusions in the Indian setup.

Sri Lanka's tour of India starts on January 3, with the T20I leg to commence first.


T20I squad: Hardik Pandya (C), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (VC), Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, Mukesh Kumar.

ODI squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya (VC), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh.


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