Five key takeaways from India's squad for Sri Lanka series


image-lc7dyew2Hardik Pandya will lead the team in T20Is [Source: Twitter]

On Tuesday, India announced two separate squads for the upcoming T20I and ODI series against Sri Lanka. 

In a significant development, Hardik Pandya will lead the T20I team for the second consecutive time, while Suryakumar Yadav will play his deputy. 

There are five major takeaways from the squad, as mentioned below. 


Is it the end of the road for Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar?

image-lc7e0682Shikhar Dhawan hasn't had a great year [Source: Twitter]

India dropped two veteran players, Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar from both squads. Both these players were struggling with form and fitness, which have led to their ouster from the national setup. Considering their age, we don't see them getting back into the team. 

Shikhar Dhawan in his last three ODI series: 146 Runs, Avg: 16.22, SR: 67.28

Bhuvneshwar Kumar in his last three T20I series: Six wickets, Avg: 42.16, SR: 32.67


Massive Opportunity for Mavi and Ishan

As Deepak Chahar is yet to recover, India have added his like for like replacement Shivam Mavi, who can make the new ball talk. The pace attack covers all bases, with a left-armer in Arshdeep, an express pacer in Umran and a variational bowler in Harshal Patel. Mukesh Kumar comes in as a surprise package and will compete with Mavi for the new-ball bowler's role. 

On the other hand, his fabulous double ton in the final match against Bangladesh has given Ishan Kishan a massive opportunity to cement his spot in the ODI team. 

Even if India start with Shubman Gill as the second opener, Kishan's presence as the second keeper-batter will act as an informal warning for KL Rahul, who has been blowing hot and cold since the Asia Cup. 


The curious cases of KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant

image-lc7e1fh8Rishabh Pant has been a failure in T20Is [Source: Twitter]

As per some emerging reports, KL Rahul hadn't asked for leave during the Sri Lanka T20Is. So, in all likelihood, he has been dropped from the T20I squad and deservingly so. 

On the other hand, Rishabh Pant has apparently been left out for the sake of workload management. However, as he was comfortably playing in the Tests, it can be assumed that he has been purposefully axed, at least from the T20I squad. 


T20I retirement of Kohli and Rohit on the cards?

image-lc7e3e7rRohit Sharma has been disappointing in T20Is [Source: Twitter]

Meanwhile, although it hasn't been made official, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma don't seem to be in India's plans for the 2024 T20 World Cup. 

The stalwarts had recently had their last dance in the World Cup Down Under and haven't played a T20I ever since. So, we can expect them to retire from the shortest format anytime soon. 


Hardik Pandya: The next white-ball captain

Hardik has been appointed the skipper in T20Is and vice-captain in the ODIs. So, it's almost certain that he will formally be announced as the T20I captain very soon and will be Rohit's successor once he retires from ODIs. 


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