IND vs SL: It is time for the 50-over format as India and Sri Lanka will square off in the three-match ODI series. Both teams will lock horns in the first game on August 2 at R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. India beat Sri Lanka 3-0 in the T20 series and will enter the IND vs SL ODI series as favorites.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are back in ODIs along with Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul. They play their last ODI during the 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. This series is also important in order to prepare for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan.
This series will be very important for India to find out their right combination in 50-over format. Because India don’t have many ODIs before the tournament. But the biggest question will be who will be the first-choice keeper between Rishabh Pant and Rahul in IND vs SL ODIs.
IND vs SL: Who will be the first-choice keeper between Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul in ODIs?
Rishabh Pant is India’s first-choice keeper in Tests and T20Is. Hence, it is very hard to make a way in a team as a keeper when Pant is around. But in ODIs, the equation is a bit different. That’s what we might see in the coming IND vs SL ODI series.
After Pant suffered a car accident, India tried a number of keepers, and Ishan Kishan also got a fair chance. But now he is away from the radar. That’s where KL Rahul evolved as a keeper batter. He has also done well. He was one of the top scorers in the ODI World Cup 2023.
Rahul scored 452 runs in ten innings at an average of 75.33, with one century and two half-centuries. He played a number of key innings at No. 5 and made that position his. Rahul’s maturity as a batter and his improved wicketkeeping skills have made him the first-choice keeper in ODIs.
That is why Rahul has been picked in the IND vs SL ODIs. We might see Pant as well in the team, but Rahul is currently the first-choice keeper in ODIs. But he needs to make sure that he performs well because Pant can come in his place.
Also Read: IND vs SL: List of Amazing Records Broken in the nail-biting third T20I at Pallekele