India announced their squad for the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka on Tuesday, July 18. In a surprising move, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named Suryakumar Yadav as the T20I captain instead of Hardik Pandya, who was the vice-captain to Rohit Sharma in the ICC tournament.
Despite having captained the Indian T20I side throughout the 2023 season, Hardik Pandya was not chosen as Rohit Sharma’s successor. In fact, Pandya was also overlooked for the vice-captain’s position in the T20I side.
Suryakumar Yadav was appointed captain after only seven matches in charge of the team, during which he won five T20Is and scored 300 runs. Known for elevating his performance under pressure, Yadav has scored two fifties and one hundred in those matches.
The squad for the T20I series against Sri Lanka includes:
- Suryakumar Yadav (C)
- Shubman Gill (VC)
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
- Rinku Singh
- Riyan Parag
- Rishabh Pant (WK)
- Sanju Samson (WK)
- Hardik Pandya
- Shivam Dube
- Axar Patel
- Washington Sundar
- Ravi Bishnoi
- Arshdeep Singh
- Khaleel Ahmed
- Mohd. Siraj
In another interesting move, Shubman Gill was named vice-captain of the T20I side. Riyan Parag retained his place, while Abhishek Sharma, who scored a hundred against Zimbabwe in a recent five-match series, was not included. Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant were selected as the wicketkeepers for the series, as KL Rahul continues to be absent from the T20I setup.
Team India will play three T20Is and three ODIs in the series. The T20I leg, taking place in Pallekele, will kick off on July 27 and conclude on July 30. The ODIs will be played in Colombo, starting on August 2.
