IND vs SL: India's best XI for ODI series

After sealing a 2-1 series win against Sri Lanka in the T20I series, the Men in Blue will be in action in a three-match ODI series starting from January 10. India will look forward to making a statement after a disappointing 2-1 loss against Bangladesh in their most recent ODI assignment. It will be a good test for the team given that Sri Lanka are no pushovers in this format and defeated Australia in an ODI series last year. Meanwhile, several senior players will also return to the Indian team after missing out on the T20 squad for various reasons. The series will be of great significance for India as they look to fix a starting XI with only a few months left for the World Cup at home. On that note, here’s a look at India’s best starting XI for the ODI series against Sri Lanka: 1. Rohit Sharma (C) The Indian captain will come back in the ODI series after a month-long absence due to a thumb injury. Rohit Sharma had a poor 2022 with the bat and struggled for consistency. He will hope that a change in year sparks a change in fortune. He scored only 249 runs in eight ODIs last year while striking at 114. The 36-year-old notched up three half-centuries, two of those in chases below 180. Rohit is much better than those numbers suggest and one look at his career stats is enough to prove that. A batter who has scored over 9000 ODI runs at an average of 48.73 and with a strike rate of nearly 90 will find form sooner rather than later. The lack of ODIs on a continuous basis can be cited as a reason for his mediocre returns in the format last year. However, with several 50-over games lined up in the near future, one can expect the skipper to find his rhythm. 2. Shubman Gill Shubman Gill will face fierce competition from Ishan Kishan for the second opening slot, but he should get the nod despite the latter’s double hundred against Bangladesh. Gill had a breakout year in the ODI format in 2022 and proved why he is rated so highly in the cricketing world. Last year, he scored 638 runs at an average of 70 and strike rate of over 100 in 12 innings, with one century and four half-centuries. He also had three scores in the 40s, highlighting his consistency. The youngster is an excellent player of both pace and spin, and his ability to accelerate against the latter is a huge positive. Rohit and Kohli have struggled to score quickly against spinners in recent times, and Gill can make up for it. 3. Virat Kohli Like Rohit Sharma, even Virat Kohli fared poorly in ODIs last year and averaged only 27.45 in 11 innings. However, the reason for the poor numbers is arguably the same - there was a lack of continuity, and ODIs were only sprinkled here and there in a year full of T20Is. He picked up the form in the second half of the year and scored runs in the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup. He even scored a century against Bangladesh in the 3rd ODI, and there is no reason why he can’t continue the same run in the upcoming series. This has arguably been Kohli’s best format in his career, and 12454 runs at an average of over 57 is a testament to it. The legendary batter will face a stern test against a formidable Lankan spin attack, and it will be interesting to watch his approach. 4. Shreyas Iyer Shreyas Iyer had excellent form last year as he scored 724 runs in 15 innings at a strike rate of 91.52, including a ton against a quality South African attack. The Mumbai batter also scored six half-centuries. In the recently concluded series against Bangladesh, he scored an excellent 82(102) on a challenging pitch and gave the team a glimmer of hope when they were reeling at 65/4. It was not the first instance of him stepping up under pressure, and he has played quite a few ODI knocks like that in recent times. With nine ODIs lined up over the next couple of months, Iyer won’t get a better opportunity to further cement his place in the XI. A series against perhaps his favourite international opponents will be a great way to kickstart the sequence of games. 5. KL Rahul (WK) KL Rahul is another senior batter in the team alongside Kohli and Rohit, and his story over the last 12 months has been similar to them. In nine innings in 2022, he could only muster 251 runs at a poor strike rate of 80. Rahul has a tendency to be over-cautious at the start of the innings. In the middle order, he had a couple of good knocks, including a 73 (70) in the first ODI against the Bangla Tigers. He single-handedly took India to a score of 186, where the others couldn’t even cross 30. The LSG captain has a good record in the middle order, and he will need to live up to those standards. He is under significant pressure to perform, and the fact that he’s longer the vice-captain is a sign that he’s no longer undroppable. 6. Hardik Pandya Hardik Pandya's excellent year in the shortest format of the game has done him a favour in the ODI format, as he is now India’s vice-captain in the format. This series will mark his return to the ODI team after nearly six months, as he was rested for the other games due to workload management. Pandya made his presence felt in the series against England, where he scored 100 runs in two innings and picked up six wickets. The allrounder was particularly impressive in the decider, picking up four wickets and scoring 71 in just 55 balls to win the game for India. Pandya will provide the team with proper balance, and his significantly improved bowling means that India can even play three spinners if the pitch is expected to help the spinners more. The 29-year-old will enter the series high on confidence after leading his country to a series win in the T20Is against the same opposition. 7. Axar Patel Axar Patel has been playing a lot for India in the absence of Ravindra Jadeja, and he’s making sure that the management will have a selection headache once the latter is declared fit. He has always been an excellent bowler in Asian conditions, but it is his batting that has grabbed eyeballs in recent times. The left-handed batter was in great touch with the bat in the T20s against Sri Lanka and scored over 100 runs. He’s even scored a couple of fifties in the ODI format, one of which was a stunning 64*(35) in West Indies in July to win a close contest. He has been very economical with the ball and conceded at only 4.39 in 2022, enhancing his status as one of India’s best spinners. He will look forward to keep his form intact in the upcoming ODIs. 8. Washington Sundar The team management will have a tough time picking the second spinner, as they will have to choose between batting depth and leg spin. They could go for the former, given that Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav have not been particularly great in the shorter formats of the game. Like Axar, even Washington Sundar has improved his batting in the limited-overs formats, and his average of 35 in ODIs shows just that. He has displayed power-hitting and even the ability to build partnerships with the tail. In fact, his maiden ODI fifty came against New Zealand when the team collapsed. The off-spinner also picked up 13 wickets at an average of just 20.30 and conceded at less than 4.5 last year. The series will be another chance for Sundar to strengthen his position as India’s first-choice off-spinner in the white-ball formats. 9. Jasprit Bumrah Jasprit Bumrah has only played two games in the last six months due to injury issues and had to miss key tournaments like the T20 World Cup and Asia Cup. The ace speedster will return to action in the ODIs against Sri Lanka ahead of a busy home season. Arguably the best bowler in the world, Bumrah took 13 wickets in just five ODIs last year. He also bagged a six-for against England, where he was unplayable with the new ball and bowled the hosts out for a paltry 110. There will be several eyes on his match fitness and how his body holds up, given that it has been a long lay-off. Sri Lanka tend to struggle against pacers, and even the three venues usually assist pace bowling, giving Bumrah the perfect platform for his comeback. 10. Mohammed Siraj Mohammed Siraj was India’s highest wicket-taker in this format last year and found his rhythm after a poor IPL. He found his usual potency with the new ball and was much better at the death with his execution of the yorkers. He played 15 games, and picked 24 wickets at an average of 23 and had an economy rate of only 4.62. The Hyderabad bowler picked up wickets in all games except two, highlighting an improvement in consistency, something that has been an issue with him. Siraj had the responsibility of bowling with the new ball in those games because Bumrah and Shami were absent, but with the return of the seniors, he could be under pressure. In this team combination, his ability to reverse swing the ball will be utilised more than his new-ball skills. 11. Mohammed Shami Bumrah won’t be the only senior pacer returning from injury, as even Mohammed Shami has not been in action for two months after being ruled out from the entire Bangladesh tour. He was in excellent form in the T20 World Cup and performed well in a different role as a middle-overs enforcer, showing improvement as a white-ball bowler. Last year, he played only three 50-over games in England and picked up four wickets. The experienced pacer troubled the batters with the new ball and formed a potent partnership with Bumrah. It might not happen in this series, and India will most likely go with three specialist pacers, given the conditions. However, in the future, the team might want to play a third spinner, which leaves room for just one in Shami and Siraj. This three-game rubber could be crucial in determining the pecking order.

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IND vs SL: India's best XI for ODI series

Here’s a look at India’s best starting XI for the ODI series against Sri Lanka.

6. Hardik Pandya

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