IND vs SL: The long-awaited squad for the Indian team for the much-anticipated Sri Lanka tour has been announced by the BCCI. Gautam Gambhir is all set to make his first international appearance as a coach for the Men in Blue.
The Indian veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have returned to service for the Indian side on the urge of the new head coach. However, veteran pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for the tour.
With an insight into the BCCI’s announced squad, the most controversial decisions among all are the dropping of young Abhishek Sharma from the T20I squad and Ruturaj Gaikwad not being picked for the tour. Also, India misses the likes of ace pacer Avesh Khan, who was anticipated by all to be seen in for the Blues.
India’s Tour of Sri Lanka
India tour of Sri Lanka (T20Is)
India is supposed to play a set of three T20Is at the Pallekele Stadium. India were crowned the T20 World Cup champions under skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid. Gambhir and co. will look to defend their title in 2026, and Suryakumar Yadav, who has been picked as Rohit’s successor for T20 captaincy, will look to get the confidence of his players to lead them to a great campaign ahead.
Full Squad for T20Is:
Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Ꮪhubman Gill (vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, and Mohammed Siraj.
India has likely amazed all, as they have not picked the likes of Abhishek Sharma despite his brilliant performance on the Zimbabwe tour. Also, Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was likely seen as Virat Kohli’s most suitable successor, has been dropped from the format. Gambhir has also not included his find, Kuldeep Yadav, who has led India in the spin department.
India tour of Sri Lanka (ODIs)
India will next play the three ODIs on August 2 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. India will be led by World Cup-winning skipper Rohit, who is back to the longer limited-overs format. The series will mark the return of veterans Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, and Pant in the format.
However, Pandya has taken some time off the ODI format amid his divorce, which he has finally announced over social platforms. Shubman Gill has been a surprise pick as the vice captain, likely hinting that the BCCI might see him as their most likely successor for Rohit Sharma after he retires from the format post-the Champions Trophy or likely the next CWC in 2027.
India Full Squad for One Day:
Rohit Sharma (captain), Ꮪhubman Gill (vice-captain), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.
Though it was much expected that Gambhir would look to experiment with the opening pair in this format as well, the team shows no such signs as none other than Gill has been placed in the squad to open aside skipper Sharma. Gaikwad and Jaiswal have been denied a spot in the format as well, with some unforeseen picks like Dube and Parag being picked on the tour.
With every new coach and unit come new generations, and this might be Gambhir’s attempt to rejuvenate the Indian side as he looks ahead to the future generations of Indian cricket.