IND vs SL: India's best starting XI in T20I series

India are all set to challenge Sri Lanka in a limited-overs series at home. The Men in Blue will kickstart their campaign with the shortest format on Tuesday, January 3 and then the action will move to the ODIs from January 10 onwards. The likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul are not part of the T20I series and Hardik Pandya will lead the troops with Suryakumar Yadav as his deputy. Though a few gun players are absent, the Indian contingent for the shortest format is still pretty formidable. The 16-member squad is stacked with match-winners and has the ability to defeat the Asia Cup champions. Let us look at what can be India’s best starting XI for the upcoming series. Here is India's best starting XI for the T20I series against Sri Lanka 1. Ishan Kishan (wk) Ishan Kishan has made a name for himself for his fearless brand of cricket. The 24-year-old is one of those batters who can take the attack to the opposition right from the get-go and has proven his mettle in the T20 circuit time and over again. He has featured in 75 IPL matches and scored 1870 runs at a strike rate of 132.34. The wicketkeeper-batter has looked to make this chance count for Team India as well. Kishan has played 21 T20Is and scored 589 runs at a strike rate of 129.16. He has put bowling attacks under the pump with his swashbuckling stroke play and provided his team with brisk starts. In the final game of the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh, the ace batter put on an exhibition of his flamboyant stroke play and blasted 210 runs in 131 deliveries, which comprised ten maximums. Kishan has been in a pristine touch and would be eager to stamp his authority in the T20I series against Sri Lanka. 2. Shubman Gill Shubman Gill has been a run-bank in the Indian Premier League. He has featured in 74 games and scored 1900 runs at a strike rate of 125.25. He was phenomenal in the 2022 season and scored 483 runs at a strike rate of 132.33. Courtesy of his stellar campaign for Gujarat Titans, he made a comeback to India’s ODI set-up. Gill has lighted the international arena with his batting exploits this calendar year and has notched up 638 runs in 12 ODIs at an impressive strike rate of 102.57. Due to his consistent performances, Gill has kept himself in contention for the opening slot for the 2023 World Cup. The ace batter has played the anchor role with perfection and shepherded the innings beautifully. Also, Gill has shown the aggressive aspect of his game on many occasions and took top-quality bowling line-ups to the cleaners. With the likes of Rohit, Rahul, and Rishabh Pant not in the T20I series against Sri Lanka, it will be a great opportunity for the Punjab-born to make a mark with his performances. 3. Suryakumar Yadav Suryakumar Yadav has set the international circuit ablaze from the time he first donned the Indian jersey. The 32-year-old has demolished top-quality bowling attacks for fun with his 360-degree stroke play and smashed 1408 runs in 42 T20Is at a stunning strike rate of 180.97. The ace batter was quite phenomenal in the T20 World Cup 2022 and took down bowling line-ups that came his way. Suryakumar hammered 239 runs in six games played in the T20 carnival at an exceptional strike rate of 189.68. His batting heroics were instrumental in India reaching the semi-final. Suryakumar carried his rich vein of form in the T20I series against New Zealand. In the second game, when other batters found it difficult to get going, the Mumbai-born smashed a breathtaking century to take the Men in Blue to a daunting total of 191. When Hardik Pandya & co. clash against Sri Lanka in the upcoming T20I series, he will again be entrusted to deliver the goods with the bat. 4. Sanju Samson Sanju Samson has been a bankable name in the Indian Premier League. He is a game-changer with the bat and has dismantled bowling attacks with his effortless power-hitting caliber. The 28-year-old has featured in 138 matches and amassed 3526 runs at a strike rate of 135.72. In the last season, he smashed 458 runs in 17 games at a strike rate of 146.79. In 2022, the wicketkeeper-batter has been exceptional in the international arena. Samson has played 10 ODIs and scored 284 runs at a strike rate of 105.57. In the T20Is, he has scored 179 runs at a superb strike rate of 158.40. Samson has made the most of the opportunities that have come his way and would look to do the same when India take the stage alongside Sri Lanka for a three-match T20I series. The ace batter is an excellent player of both pace and spin and has all the potential in the world to thrive against the Lankan Lions. 5. Hardik Pandya (c) Hardik Pandya is one of the best all-rounders going around in world cricket at the moment. The 29-year-old is a match-winner with both bat and ball and brings much-needed balance to the Indian side. He has scored 1160 runs in 81 T20Is at a strike rate of 146.09 and picked up 62 scalps at an economy of 8.31. The ace all-rounder has slotted in at the middle order and finished games for the side with perfection. Also, Hardik has steadied the ship whenever the Men in Blue have been in trouble. On the bowling front, he has been an enforcer in the middle phases of the innings, denting the opposition at regular intervals. Further, the ace all-rounder has been a great captain and has shown his leadership skills on the international stage on quite a few occasions. With Hardik at the helm, India won the T20I series against Ireland and New Zealand. When the Men in Blue face Sri Lanka, the onus will again be on the Gujarat-born to shepherd his troops to victory. 6. Deepak Hooda Deepak Hooda has been a proven performer in the Indian Premier League. The 27-year-old has featured in 95 games and scored 1236 runs at a strike rate of 132.05. He set the 15th edition of the tournament on fire with his blistering performances, scoring 451 runs in 15 games at a strike rate of 136.67. The ace batter has also shown his batting might in the international arena and scored 302 runs in 15 T20Is at a staggering strike rate of 150.24. Hooda’s inclusion has provided flexibility to the batting line-up as he can slot in at any position from one to seven. Also, the Rohtak-born has been quite handy with his off-spin and can be used in case of a favourable match-up. Hooda’s skills with the ball were on show in the second game of the T20I series against New Zealand, where he ended the match with impeccable figures of 2.5-0-10-4. Hooda has become an integral part of India’s T20 set-up with his ability to contribute in both departments. He would look to bring his A-game into play in the forthcoming series against Sri Lanka. 7. Washington Sundar Washington Sundar has been one of India’s top all-rounders in the limited-overs format. He has featured in 32 T20Is and bagged 26 wickets at an economy of 7.33. On the batting front, the 23-year-old has scored 47 runs at a strike rate of 142.42. Talking about the ODIs, he has picked up 14 wickets in 12 games and scored 212 runs at a strike rate of 86.88. The ace all-rounder is a wily spinner and is known to strangle batters with his consistent line and length. Sundar has developed the art of bowling in the powerplay as well which makes him a valuable addition to the Indian side. With the bat, he has slotted in at number seven and played vital knocks for the Men in Blue. When India faced Bangladesh, Sundar was sensational with the ball and took six wickets in three games at an economy of 3.50. Also, he scored 67 runs in those outings. The team management would hope the Chennai-born is at his best in the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka. 8. Harshal Patel Harshal Patel broke into the Indian set-up last year with his stellar IPL performance in the 2021 season. The 32-year-old played the role of a death-overs specialist for Royal challengers Bangalore and bagged 32 wickets in 15 matches at an economy of 8.14. He has been doing the same for the Men in Blue. Harshal has featured in 24 T20Is and taken 27 wickets at an economy of 9.13. He has deceived batters with his numerous variations of the slower balls and has proven to be tough to tackle especially at the fag end of the innings. However, the ace pacer has been far from his best since he made a return to the international fold after recovering from his rib injury. The Sanand-born has played seven T20Is since September and managed to take only four wickets, giving away runs at an economy of 10.43. The upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka will present a golden chance for Harshal to vindicate himself. 9. Yuzvendra Chahal Yuzvendra Chahal is one the finest spinners in the Indian circuit. The 32-year-old has featured in 70 ODIs and picked up 118 wickets at an economy of 5.25. When it comes to the shortest format, he has bagged 87 scalps in 71 T20Is at an economy of 8.13. The ace spinner has bamboozled batters with his variations and has been a strike force with the ball. Chahal has been entrusted to provide breakthroughs in the middle phases of the innings and has done it with perfection. Also, he has shown the ability to bowl in the death overs. Chahal has wreaked havoc with the ball against Sri Lanka in the shortest format. He has played 10 T20Is and taken 20 wickets at an economy of 8.23. The team management would hope the leg-spinner again weaves his magic in the forthcoming T20I series. 10. Arshdeep Singh Arshdeep Singh’s stocks in the international arena have grown leaps and bounds from the time made his India debut. The 23-year-old has represented the Men in Blue on 21 occasions in the shortest format and bagged 33 wickets at an economy of 8.17. The ace pacer has made the ball talk at the start of the innings and provided India with early breakthroughs. Also, Arshdeep has nailed pin-point yorkers at will and has been impeccable in the slog overs. In the absence of India’s pace-spearhead Jasprit Bumrah at the T20 World Cup 2022, he was Rohit Sharma’s go-to man for crunch situations, and the youngster delivered most times. Arshdeep was India’s wrecker-in-chief at the T20 extravaganza and picked up 10 wickets in six games at an economy of 7.80. Again when the Men in Blue battled against New Zealand, he was also amongst the wickets, taking four scalps in two games. The left-arm pacer would look to put up a show with the ball in the forthcoming encounter against the Asia Cup champions. 11. Umran Malik Umran Malik caught a lot of eyeballs with his astonishing bowling performance in the 15th edition of the cash-rich league. The 23-year-old clocked speeds of over 150 kmph consistently and rattled batters with his fiery pace. He featured in 14 games for Sunrisers Hyderabad and bagged 22 scalps at an economy of 9.03. Courtesy of the speedster’s stellar showings, he broke into the international fold. Umran has fared well in the ODIs, bagging seven wickets in five matches at an economy of 6.00. However, he has been fairly inconsistent in the T20Is, conceding runs at an alarming rate of 12.44 in three games. The inclusion of an express pacer like Umran brings another dimension to the pace attack and makes the bowling line-up more rounded. Thus, he is likely to find a place in India’s starting XI for the upcoming T20I series against the Lankan Lions. The Srinagar-born would be itching to put up a spectacular bowling display and improve his numbers in the shortest format.

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IND vs SL: India's best starting XI in T20I series

India will kickstart the white-ball series against Sri Lanka with the shortest format on Tuesday, January 3 and the action will move to the ODIs from January 10 onwards.

9. Yuzvendra Chahal

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