India announces white-ball squads for Sri Lankan tour
On Thursday, July 18, BCCI announced the squads for India’s upcoming white-ball tour of Sri Lanka. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be featuring in the ODIs, while Suryakumar Yadav will be taking over as the new T20I skipper of the Men in Blue.
India is set to play three T20Is and as many ODIs in the Island Nation. The first T20I will be played on July 27 in Pallekele to kick-start the campaign. Fans were waiting anxiously for the squads to be announced. One of the major talking points that emerged from the ODI squad was the presence of senior pros – Rohit and Kohli. Initial reports suggested that they were going to skip the tour but fans can breathe a collective sigh of relief as the two stalwarts will be in action for the first time since India’s triumphant T20 World Cup 2024 campaign. Rohit will be in charge of the ODI side.
Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav has been announced as the captain of the T20I side, pipping Hardik Pandya. The Baroda all-rounder, however, is in the 15-member squad and it confirms that Suryakumar is India’s new full-time T20I skipper, taking over the reins from Rohit.
Another interesting highlight from the squads is the appointment of Shubman Gill as the vice-captain in both formats. On the recent tour of Zimbabwe, Shubman led India to a 4-1 win in a five-match T20I series versus Sikandar Raza and Co. It seems that the selectors and the management are happy with his performances as a leader. He replaces Hardik, who vice-captained India during the T20 World Cup last month. KL Rahul was being touted by many to be Rohit’s deputy in ODIs but he has lost the race to the Punjab batter.
Meanwhile, Harshit Rana and Riyan Parag, who made his international debut against Zimbabwe earlier this month, have made it to the ODI side for the first time. Shivam Dube has been picked in both the sides, while Sanju Samson has been retained in the T20I setup. Ruturaj Gaikwad, however, has surprisingly been omitted from the T20I side, even after producing a couple of impressive performances in Zimbabwe.
India’s squad for T20Is: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Ꮪhubman Gill (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohd. Siraj.
India’s squad for ODIs: Rohit Sharma (C), Ꮪhubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana
