India vs Sri Lanka | Predicted XI for 1st T20I in Colombo

03/06/2018

Rohit Sharma will undoubtedly have a tricky task ahead of him in the absence of Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni, and with an amateur squad under his leadership. In-form Sri Lanka will look to capitalize on India’s weaknesses, however, they come into the series without Angelo Mathews and Asela Gunaratne.

Openers

Rohit Sharma - The Mumbai Indians skipper has rarely disappointed when stepping into Virat Kohli’s shoes and with the hit-man returning back to familiar conditions, we expect another blistering innings from him. Though his form in the South African tour has been erratic, to put it mildly, no one can doubt his batting prowess.

Shikhar Dhawan - While his partner has been struggling at the other end, the explosive southpaw has been at his consistent best. He garnered 143 runs in three T20Is against South Africa and is only expected to level up against an inexperienced Sri Lankan bowling side.

Middle Order

Suresh Raina - One of the reasons why Raina was promoted ahead of Kohli in the last T20I series might have been the management’s experiment to see if he could keep the run rate shooting in the powerplay overs. He has done that excellently and would be a crucial advisor for Rohit in Dhoni’s absence.

Manish Pandey - After a hot and cold outing in South Africa, Pandey will have a lot to prove if he wants an extension in the Indian side. He will hope to be a regular in the side this time and his ability to hit late in the death overs will be significant for India’s success in the tri-series.

Dinesh Karthik - With his captaincy in Kolkata Knight Riders’ camp confirmed, the veteran will look to get into the thick of things now. He hardly got a chance in SA, but has a proven track record of scoring runs in the sub-continent. His experience will come in handy.

Rishabh Pant - This is perhaps the biggest game of Rishabh Pant’s career as he gets another chance to prove himself as MS Dhoni’s successor. He was a failure last time he played in national colours but has since then improved magnificently in the domestic league. He has scored four fifties and a ton in the Zonal T20 League and in the subsequent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He was also in good touch in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy games.

All-Rounder

Vijay Shankar - Hardik Pandya has been a significant cog in India’s wheel and the difficulty in replacing him reflects it aptly. A decision between Washington Sundar and Shankar was hard to take but we believe it will be the pacer all-rounder that will be left out. He has previously been picked up as Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s replacement but didn’t get a game. This time could be his chance.

Bowlers

Axar Patel - With wrist-spin the flavour of the month, Patel’s talents have taken a major backseat. However, with Kuldeep Yadav not in the squad, his chance is most probably guaranteed and he will have to show his skills both with bat and ball to be considered for future squads.

Yuzvendra Chahal - In the spin-friendly conditions of Sri Lanka with hardly any sign of rain, Chahal should ideally excel. His brilliant ODI high in South Africa took a severe jolt in the T20Is where he managed just one wicket. And with weeks before IPL, this could be his perfect warm-up ground.

Jaydev Unadkat - The left-arm pacer is slowly but surely becoming an important part of the India squad and now with both Bhuvi and Jasprit Bumrah absent, it is time he announced his arrival. He was the Man of the Series in India’s last series against Sri Lanka and will look to repeat that feat.

Shardul Thakur - Thakur has shown promising signs in South Africa where he finished with figures of 4/52 in the only ODI that he played. In the T20I series, he took wickets in two games and will look to partner Unadkat on Tuesday.

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