CHENNAI: Suryakmar Yadav, who was part of the leadership group during Gautam Gambhir’s playing days at Kolkata Knight Riders, has been named skipper for the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka later this month. What, though, remains to be seen is whether the middle-order batter will be a permanent captain (the BCCI press release stays silent on this). The T20I series, scheduled to begin on July 27, will be Gambhir’s first assignment as coach of the side after being appointed to the post.
There aren’t too many surprises in the T20I set-up as some of the more seasoned campaigners have been brought back (Abhishek Sharma, who hit a century in Zimbabwe does not make). One player who will be missing from the roster is Jasprit Bumrah, who has been given an extended break following last month’s World Cup exertions. Interestingly, Shubman Gill is the vice-captain for both the ODI and T20I series which suggests he will be a big part of both sets-ups going forward.
In the ODI series, Gill will likely open with Rohit Sharma with Virat Kohli at No. 3. Both Kohli and Sharma, who announced their retirement from the shortest format, find a place, the latter retaining his place as captain. Shreyas Iyer, who found himself on the naughty step earlier this year as the BCCI didn’t award him a central contract, has earned a recall.
Squads
T20I: 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, Mohammed Siraj.
ODI: Rohit Sharma (C), Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Pant (WK), Shreyas Iyer, Dube, Kuldeep, Siraj, Washington, Arshdeep, Parag, Axar, Khaleel, Harshit. Schedule: T20Is (all in Pallekele): July 27, 28 and 30. ODIs (all in Colombo): August 2, 4, 7