The BCCI announced the T20I and ODI squads for the upcoming Sri Lanka series. Star batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are back in the ODI team, so the rumored KL Rahul ODI captaincy will not occur anymore. There are some surprise entries and some noted exclusions in the first squads under the Gautam Gambhir regime. We will discuss the biggest positives and disappointments of the squad selection.
Positives
The biggest positive of the Sri Lanka series could be the coach, Gautam Gambhir. His aggressive approach and giving opportunities for the player to perform with a flair of encouragement could be a good start to building the future Indian team.
Big Bs Are Back: Both Rohit Sharma and Kohli were expected to have their much-needed rest and were rumored to be out of the series. However, due to a special request from the new coach, the duo decided to wear the magical blue in Sri Lanka. This will boost the confidence of a relatively young Indian team. The veterans who recently retired from the T20 format will now enjoy ODIs and Tests for the rest of the years that are left for them.
Riyan Parag’s inclusion is another good thing for the team. The youngster was excellent for the Rajasthan Royals in the last IPL. A player who can bowl and bat alike could be an asset for Team India, which usually faces a scarcity of all-rounders.
Shreyas Iyer’s Cameo entry wasn’t anticipated so early until yesterday evening when Indian Express reported his possible inclusion in the squad. Sitting out for a while after getting snubbed from the central contract by the BCCI due to the lack of action in domestic cricket, Iyer took it as an opportunity to fight back on the pitch, and he did in the IPL, brilliantly taking the Kolkata Knight Riders into glory.
Disappointments
Samson Snub Again: How long does this brilliant wicketkeeper-batter have to sit out? Perrofrming over and over again, Sanju Samson is the best wicketkeeper-batter the country has. He is also the most consistent one among the others in the past few months. His last ODI outing for India was a firecracker, as the player hit a brilliant century when the team was in utmost need.
Despite Gautam Gambhir labeling him the best wicketkeeper-batsman in the country, Samson is again out of the ODI squad. The player, though, is included in the T20I squad, and let’s see what this Gambhir Era will bring for him.
Hardik Pandya’s T20I captaincy snub is another disappointment. Don’t get me wrong, Suryakumar Yadav could be a good captain. But if you count the captaincy experience and the performance in the T20 World Cup, the slot had to go to Pandya to steer the wheel in T20. It’s been a while since Suryakumar Yadav has performed consistently in T20Is. Also, fans are claiming that making Shubman Gill, who has been poor this year, the vice-captain when Pandya is already in the squad might cause a rift in the team.
India Squad for Sri Lanka Series
T20I Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Ꮪhubman Gill (VC), Sanju Samson (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohd. Siraj, and Arshdeep Singh.
ODI Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Ꮪhubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Khaleel Ahmed,
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