Russel Arnold backs an Indian youngster to be the difference against Sri Lanka

A second-stringed Team India will take on Sri Lanka in the first ODI of the three-match series on Sunday (July 18). The encounter takes place at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo and it would be interesting to see how it unfolds. Despite not having services of many big names, the Men in Blue are deemed favorites to clinch the series thanks to their talented crop of youngsters.

Although most of the visiting team players are young and inexperienced, they have shown their prowess in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Hence, many fans and experts are backing them to shine against the depleted Sri Lankan team. Former Sri Lankan cricketer Russel Arnold is also of a similar opinion. While the southpaw hailed India’s overall bench strength, he backed young opener, Prithvi Shaw, to be the difference between winning and losing.

Prithvi Shaw will entertain everyone: Russel Arnold

“Of course, you will be looking at (Shikhar) Dhawan and Pandyas to perform but I’m thinking Prithvi Shaw might get a run. Helpfully he will prove me right by entertaining everyone,” Hindustan Times quoted Arnold. Shaw has been on a roll lately and is all but likely to be India’s first-choice opener alongside Shikhar Dhawan.

The dasher piled up a mountain of runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy earlier this year and continued his sensational run in the following Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. Shaw tends to toil bowlers with his blitzes in the powerplay overs and playing big knocks isn’t beyond his reach either. With the Sri Lankan bowling attack not being that daunting, the 21-year-old would be raring to make a mark in this series.

Speaking further of India’s strength, Arnold said he was jealous that India have all these young cricketers to back their big stars. “I just feel jealous that India have those cricketers. Even this team, we’ve seen them play. We’ve seen the quality they bring. There is a lot of experience too in Shikhar Dhawan, the Pandyas (Hardik and Krunal), spinners (Yuzvendra) Chahal, and Kuldeep Yadav. There’s a lot of exciting prospects,” Arnold asserted.

Notably, the ICC T20 World Cup is just months away. Hence, Shaw and other Indian youngsters have a great chance to shine in national colours, and stake a claim in the squad for the global event.