Predicting India's Playing XI for Sri Lanka ODI and T20I series

In a recent interview, Sourav Ganguly announced a couple of things regarding Indian cricket. He said that India is going to fly to Sri Lanka in between the WTC final and five match England test series to feature in three ODIs and as many T20Is. It came as a surprise to a lot of fans. Most of the fans are speculating how team India is going to manage two series in Sri Lanka & England. Considering the Covid-19 situation and the quarantine rule, it is almost impossible for the team travelling to England to be available for the Sri Lanka series. When we say the players will be unavailable, we mean the entire team travelling to England. It also means that players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah will all be unavailable. There will be a new captain for the series with Sri Lanka for sure. Here we being you India’s possible playing XI for Sri Lanka series: 1. Prithvi Shaw Prithvi Shaw. (Photo Source: Twitter) The lad is experiencing an extraordinary run since the last couple of months. He was trolled heavily when he couldn’t turn up well in the Test series against Australia. He fought back like a champion and has gained back his form. Prithvi Shaw scored a record 827 runs in the Vijay Hajare trophy which was conducted recently, the highest run-scorer of the tournament. His aggressive stroke play was praised heavily by the fans as well as his critics. Sadly, he couldn’t find himself in the squad for the Test series against England. Now that Rohit Sharma is not available and Shubman Gill is also the part of the Test squad, it is almost certain that he will enter as an opener against Sri Lanka. Prithvi Shaw will have a great chance to make his mark at the biggest stage. 2. Shikhar Dhawan (C) Shikhar Dhawan playing the shot. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Shikhar Dhawan is not the part of the Test squad and he is destined to travel to Sri Lanka. He is also rumoured to be captaining the side in Virat Kohli’s absence. A lot is going to rest on his heavy shoulders. Dhawan is close to 6000 runs mark in ODIs and has been an integral part of the setup. He might look to prove himself in the T20Is where KL Rahul has always looked more impressive than him. His recent form suggests that he may very well give KL the run for his money for that opening spot. He was the Orange cap holder in the IPL this season until it was postponed. He has always shown a positive intent and hardly sees a lean patch in the limited overs cricket. We expect him to lead from the front in the series against Sri Lanka. 3. Suryakumar Yadav Suryakumar Yadav. (Photo Source: BCCI) Suryakumar Yadav has been a very consistent performer in the last couple of years. He has done it for Mumbai Indians with back to back successful seasons. When he debuted for India earlier this year, he made a mark straightway. There’s no doubt that he will be in the reckoning going into the World T20. But he might also get a chance in the ODI format. He has shown it in domestic cricket with an average of 38 and a strike rate of 103. There’s no reason why he shouldn’t be tried in the ODIs too. He had a rather quiet IPL season with 173 runs at an average of 24.71, not good considering his standards. He would like to change the dynamics when he enters the international circuit. A dangerous batsmen when on song, Suryakumar Yadav will be an important player when the most experienced batsmen wouldn’t be available. 4. Ishan Kishan (WK) Ishan Kishan. (Photo Source: BCCI) Ishan Kishan‘s story is quite like Suryakumar Yadav. He has been very consistent in domestic cricket but wasn’t getting included into the national reckoning. The things finally changed earlier this year in the series against England. He has garnered an image of a destructive batsman. He is a left handed batsman and there are very few of his kind in the Indian playing XI. Having scored 50 on his international debut, confidence is not an issue with this pocketsized dynamo. He likes to make the most of his opportunities and we expect nothing different when India tours Sri Lanka. Ishan Kishan will be slotted somewhere in the middle order. Considering the number of players fighting for that spot in the Indian team, it will be extremely important for him to make the best out of this golden chance. 5. Manish Pandey Manish Pandey. (Photo Source: Twitter) Manish Pandey has been the part of the Indian squad for a lot of years now but hasn’t got a chance consistently. The middle-order batsman is a beast in domestic cricket but his consistency has been hampered at the international level due to lack of opportunities. Sri Lanka tour should be the chance for him to come up the ranks among other top players in the limited-overs format. Six matches in the island nation gives him a great opportunity to display his consistency. Manish Pandey has played 26 ODIs and 39 T20Is so far and his batting average of 35.1 and 44.3 in respective formats prove that he has got the talent and only needs chance on a consistent basis. 6. Hardik Pandya Hardik Pandya. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images) It was a bit of a surprise when Hardik Pandya wasn’t picked for the Test series against England. He has the ability to score runs at a quick pace and also has a fifer in the bowling friendly conditions. He could strike the balance into the team. Since he was dropped from the Test squad, he would be having a great chance in the limited overs setup. It’s likely that he is picked as the vice-captain of the side. He’s trying his hand in the leadership group as we saw in the 2021 edition of IPL too. Hardik is a very important part of the side even in the presence of the best of the players. Now that he’s going to be one of the most experienced guys in the team, he should be trying his level best to show his leadership abilities too. It also remains to be seen if he can start bowling short spells and play the role of the sixth bowler if needed. 7. Krunal Pandya Krunal Pandya fifty. (Photo by Surjeet Yadav/Getty Images) It’s Hardik’s brother Krunal Pandya who is very likely to be the part of the XI. The elder brother of the Pandyas had a solid debut in the ODIs. However, he couldn’t make a mark in the next couple of games. Krunal Pandya is very efficient in all the departments of the game which makes him a very important player to any side. He needs to put on some effective performances in order to make a mark. His bowling has been a bit of a mess when it comes to the international stage. He picked just one wicket in the three games played against England. His T20I numbers are not that great either, having picked 14 wickets out of 18 games at an average of 38.5. He will have to put up a better show as a bowler alone since Kuldeep & Chahal are struggling anyway and there’s enough room for a quality bowler to come into the side. 8. Deepak Chahar Deepak Chahar. (Photo Source: Twitter) It’s been a sad story on part of Deepak Chahar in Indian side. He wasn’t backed as much as he should have been considering his impressive T20I numbers. It shows the kind of competition that is there in the pace department. Deepak has picked 18 wickets in 12 games he has played so far in T20 internationals. It also includes a 7/6 against Bangladesh. These are the best figures for any Indian bowler in T20Is. He was in very good form in the 2021 edition of IPL which means the entry to Indian team isn’t that far. Now that Sourav Ganguly has announced fresh faces for the Sri Lanka tour, Deepak might be one of them. Last time he lost his place from the team due to injury and couldn’t get a place back. This time around, he has a chance to seal his spot ahead of the T20 World Cup. 9. Bhuvneshwar Kumar Bhuvneshwar Kumar. (Photo by Surjeet Yadav/Getty Images) It’s kind of sad that Bhuvi hasn’t been able to make it to the Test side. Considering India is travelling to England, Bhuvneshwar Kumar would have been a key asset. He can swing the ball both ways and has gotten plenty of it with the bat in hand. He will be the most experienced bowler in the Indian side in the Sri Lankan tour. Bhuvneshwar has the knack of putting on consistent performances. He’s very good in the opening spell and has been very efficient at the death too. If he can last throughout the tour without getting injured, he has all the chance to pair up with Jasprit Bumrah in the upcoming T20 World Cup. Although it’s almost certain he will get the nod over Shami, there are still questions regarding who can be a better option. It will be interesting to see how he performs on this Sri Lankan tour! 10. Yuzvendra Chahal Rohit Sharma and Yuzvendra Chahal. (Photo Source: GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images) This guy has a lot to prove at the moment. Yuzvendra Chahal was hand-picked along with Kuldeep Yadav to form the spin twin heading into World Cup 2019. They had an amazing run, especially in overseas conditions where they were the first two choices as the spinners. Things didn’t really go their way since the World Cup and Kuldeep has been axed from the team. Yuzvendra Chahal has been a little bit better but nothing impressive. It’s a must for him to do better in this series. He didn’t have a great IPL either this year which shows more concerns. However, Chahal is full of positivity and can turn up with impressive performances out of nowhere. He should be looking for a great series against Sri Lanka. 11. Navdeep Saini Navdeep Saini of India (Photo credit should read RANDY BROOKS/AFP/Getty Images) Here’s a player who has kind of faded away from the limelight in the recent past. Navdeep Saini has been termed as the future of Indian cricket. But he hasn’t been able to show the capabilities in him on a consistent basis. He has had a stop start sort of career whether it comes to IPL or international circuit. While he’s failed in ODIs having picked just six wickets in seven games at an economy of 6.98, his T20I run has been much better. He has picked 13 wickets in nine games he has played. Navdeep Saini needs to find his ground for a spot in the team. He wouldn’t be getting any better chance than this one. We can expect him to perform at his maximum potential in this particular series!

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Predicting India's Playing XI for Sri Lanka ODI and T20I series

Selectors will have a lot of talented players to pick from thanks to IPL.

11. Navdeep Saini

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