BCCI Announcement: India Squad for Mastercard Series – After Team India returned from a tour of Bangladesh, BCCI announced Team India’s squad for the Mastercard series vs Sri Lanka at home. Few players have returned, few have been rested after the Bangladesh series for the series against Australia, while few have been dropped.
Let’s take a detailed look at the announced squads and changes made in both squad:
We talked earlier about Rohit Sharma’s injury in previous articles. He has almost recovered and has started batting in the nets. According to reports, he will be fully fit by the end of the first week of next month, which makes him unavailable for the T20I series against Lankans, which is scheduled to start on January 3.
However, he will be fully fit before the start of the ODI series against the same side and hence, has been included in the squad and will lead the team.
Despite declaring fit, Fast-bowler Jasprit Bumrah hasn’t been included in any of the squads against Sri Lanka. According to reports, he was available for selection.
Still, the selectors didn’t want to rush and first wanted to see how his body reacts after setting simulated training for the fast bowler that replicates the workload of a proper match before landing him back on the field for international competitions.
Selectors want to pass another player, Ravindra Jadeja as well from the match simulation to check his fitness level. He was included in the squad for the tour of Bangladesh and is still out from international cricket.
BCCI Announcement: India Squad for Mastercard Series, Hardik Pandya Continue to Lead in T20Is, Rohit Returns as ODI Captain
Wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant has been sent to the NCA to get strength and conditioning to prepare him for the Test series against Australia, which is scheduled to be played next month.
Shikhar Dhawan has been dropped from the squad after he was selected for the Bangladesh tour where in his absence in the final ODI match, Ishan Kishan scored a double century and made himself a strong candidate to be a regular opener for team India along with Shubhman Gill, who also is in line.
Virat Kohli and KL Rahul have been rested after both played each game on the Bangladesh tour; Deepak Chahar is still recovering from the injury, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been dropped.
Moreover, Shreyas Iyer and Mohammad Siraj have been rested for the T20I series but will join the team in the ODI series.
It’s worth mentioning that the already-sacked selection panel announced both squads as the new board is yet to be appointed by the BCCI.
Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) comprising Ashok Malhotra, Sulakshana Naik, and Jatin Paranjpe has sent the applications, but the interview and selection process remains to take place; expected to be finalised in the first week of next month.
India’s ODI Squad Against Sri Lanka:
Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), KL Rahul (Wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wk), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Akshar Patel, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed. Siraj, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh.
India’s T20I Squad Against Sri Lanka:
Hardik Pandya (c), SuryakumarYadav, Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Yuzi Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, Mukesh Kumar
Sri Lanka Tour of India Schedule:
Below is the complete schedule of the Sri Lanka tour of India: T20I Series:
* 1st T20I: January 3, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai (7:00 pm IST)
* 2nd T20I: January 5, Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune (7:00 pm IST)
* 3rd T20I: January 7, Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot (7:00 pm IST)
ODI Series:
* 1st ODI: January 10, Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati (2:00 pm IST)
* 2nd ODI: January 12, Eden Gardens, Kolkata (2:00 pm IST) * 3rd ODI: January 15, Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram (2:00 pm IST)
