India vs Sri Lanka | India’s probable XI for Colombo T20I
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India humiliated Sri Lanka 3-0 in the Test series, followed it up with a 5-0 whitewash in the ODIs, and will now want to wrap up the tour with a T20I victory in Colombo. India have played a ruthless brand of cricket and will want to repeat the same in the 20-over match to finish the tour on a high.
Openers:
KL Rahul: KL Rahul was only one of the few players on the tour, who failed to make an impact in the limited-overs series. But given his pedigree, he will get a longer rope in the Indian team and due to the absence of Shikhar Dhawan, who had flown back to India to attend to his ailing mother, he is sure to get a go.
Rohit Sharma: Rohit Sharma had a successful ODI series, hitting two centuries and a half-century. He even smashed the most number of sixes in the series. With the form he is in, he will hope to repeat it once again in the T20I.
Middle-order:
Virat Kohli (c): Do we need to even justify his selection? The Indian skipper has been in outstanding form for as much time as anyone could remember. He slammed two
Manish Pandey: Pandey made the most of his opportunity in the fourth ODI, scoring an unbeaten 42-ball 50 to help India finish with a mammoth total of 375. The match was his first game for India in nearly 10 months as his poor form during the ODI series against New Zealand in October 2016 pushed him out of the reckoning for a while. He seemed to be in good touch in the ODIs but whether he can sustain the same in T20I remains to be seen and it will determine his standing in India's plans for the future.
Kedar Jadhav: The Maharashtra pocket dynamite scored a brilliant 63 in the last ODI - after a string of failure in the series - and made his presence felt with his seemingly innocuous off-spin bowling, which helped him get three wickets in the series. While Ajinkya Rahane poses a challenge to him, he might get a go, considering his useful role as a part-time
MS Dhoni (WK): What a series MS Dhoni had! After a couple of years of indifferent performances with the bat in limited-overs cricket, Dhoni was back to his best in the ODI series scoring 162 runs at a strike rate of a tad under than 83. More than the runs he scored, the former Indian skipper provided a sneak peak to his best years by pulling India out of woods in the second and third ODI. He remained unbeaten in four matches and will try not to be bogged down today as well.
Hardik Pandya: The Baroda all-rounder had a superb debut Test series but failed to create a similar impact in the ODI series. In his
Bowlers:
Bhuvneshwar Kumar: In the initial phases of the ODI series, Bhuvneshwar Kumar didn't taste success in the form of wickets but kept asking questions of the Sri Lankan openers. Eventually, he found his answers in the form of a five-wicket haul in the fifth ODI. However, Bhuvneshwar has not made a huge impact in limited-overs of late and will have a point to prove today.
Kuldeep Yadav: The Uttar Pradesh spinner has been making all the right noises ever since playing his first international game against Australia earlier this year. A match-turning spell in his maiden Test meant that he quickly became an integral part of Indian squad and a good show in his maiden ODI series, in the Caribbean, only boosted his credentials. He also picked up three wickets in two matches that he played in the Sri Lanka ODI series and will try to bring his IPL expertise to fore in the T20 match.
Yuzvendra Chahal: Wrist spinners seem to be Kohli’s preference as far as the spin department is concerned and it was quite apparent throughout the fifth and the final ODI, as the Indian skipper decided to play two wrist spinners (Chahal and Yadav) in the playing XI - a first in India's 922 ODI history and both the spinners did well with the ball. The last T20I that Chahal played was against England in Bengaluru in February and spun England to the submission by picking six wickets in that match. He is sure to get a go and will try to prove his credentials on the big stage once again.
Jasprit Bumrah: In the ODI series, Jasprit Bumrah proved himself more than just a yorker and slower-ball expert, claiming 15 wickets in the ODIs - six more than the next-best bowler. With the variety that he brings to the table, the pace with which he can rattle the batsmen and consistency in terms of performances, success has invariably embraced him. The Gujarat pacer has also shown tremendous adaptability to switch seamlessly between different roles, and thus has played a crucial part in some of India's recent successes. His performance today will also determine India’s performance in the match.
