Who can be second-string Indian captain for the Sri Lanka tour in July.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief Sourav Ganguly has earlier confirmed that India will tour Sri Lanka in July after the final of the ICC World Test Championship against New Zealand. The Indian outfit will play three T20Is and as many ODIs against Sri Lanka in July this year.
The board will field a second string Indian team against Sri Lanka in the limited overs leg. However the main question which comes up is who will lead the side in absence of senior players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Kohli and Rohit will be in England along with the 18-other members of the Test squad for the five games India-England Test series.
Southpaw Shikhar Dhawan and dashing all rounder Hardik Pandya are in the race ahead of everyone else in the side to lead the second string squad.
It is noteworthy that Shreyas Iyer is unlikely to get fit for the Sri Lanka tour as he will be recovering from his shoulder injury.
“It is still not clear if Shreyas will recover fully and will be match-fit in time for tour of Sri Lanka. Normally, a surgery of this scale along with rest, extensive rehab and training to get back in shape takes around four months,” a senior BCCI source privy to selection matters told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
“In case Shreyas was available, he would have been the automatic choice for captaincy.”
Also, experienced KL Rahul is also unavailable for the Sri Lanka tour. Rahul recently was diagnosed with appendicitis and will undergo surgery.
Shikhar Dhawan has been with the Indian side for the last eight years. He has won matches for his side and his recent performance is extremely encouraging. However, his captaincy record is not that great.
Dhawan was handed the captaincy of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in 2014 which didn’t go well due to which he stepped down from the role midway through the IPL 2014.
On the other hand, the young Hardik Pandya’s reputation can’t be discounted either.
The all-rounder can change the course of the game within overs and lead his side to a win. He has been an X-factor cricketer for his franchise as well as in the Indian team.
“Yes, Hardik hasn’t been regularly bowling for MI or India in recent times. However, he is the man with x-factor and among options available. He is miles ahead of his peers in terms of being an impact performer. And who knows, may be extra responsibility brings the best out of him.”
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