After thrashing the West Indies in Kolkata, the Rohit Sharma-led Team India has arrived in Lucknow for a three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka, which is scheduled to be commencing on Thursday. However, the Indian pacer, Deepak Chahar has been ruled out of the home series due to a grade II tear in his right thigh. He has already left the bio-bubble and will take five-six weeks of rehab. He will be expected to make a comeback to competitive cricket in the IPL.
The Ekana Stadium will be hosting an international game after more than a 2-year gap. The last game played at this venue was a Test match between Afghanistan and West Indies in 2019. The BCCI on Monday to social media platforms and shared the video of Team India checking in at the team hotel. Head coach Rahul Dravid was the first to deboard the bus and was followed by the other members of the team.
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Meanwhile, Ishan Kishan was seen playing carrom before the players headed to their rooms. Captioning the video on Twitter, BCCI wrote: “Touchdown Lucknow. #TeamIndia arrive in Lucknow for the 1st @Paytm #INDvSL T20I.”
https://twitter.com/BCCI/status/1495811486438289411?s=20&t=v8T6MqAMYbaTi_Anxk5ylA
After the Lucknow face-off, both teams will be traveling to Dharmashala to play a remaining couple of matches games of the series. After the conclusion of the T20Is, India and Sri Lanka will be locking horns with each other in the Test series which is scheduled to begin on March 4 in Mohali. The tour will conclude with a day-night Test in Bengaluru, scheduled to be commencing on March 12.
The Sri Lanka series will mark the return of all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja after recovering from injury. Kerala wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson has also joined the squad. Former Indian skipper, Virat Kohli, and Rishabh Pant have been rested for the T20Is and will return for the Tests.
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Ace speedster Jasprit Bumrah will be making a comeback and will assist Rohit as deputy skipper. KL Rahul, Deepak Chahar, and Washington Sundar have been ruled out of the entire series owing to injuries.
T20I squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Avesh Khan.
