Team India will be locking horns with Sri Lanka in the opening game of the three-match T20I series at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday, January 3. The Men in Blue were in great form last year in the bilateral T20I series and would now look to continue the winning streak as the new year begins.
The Indian team will be captained by the flamboyant all-rounder Hardik Pandya as regular skipper Rohit Sharma is yet to fully recover from a thumb injury that he sustained during the last month’s ODI series in Bangladesh. Notably, the batting stalwart, Virat Kohli has also been given a break for this series. India will be fielding a young brigade in the upcoming T20I series with an eye on the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.
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Kerala stumper Sanju Samson has also been included in the squad and he would be looking forward to this opportunity with both hands. The Sri Lankan team on the other hand would be determined to do something exceptional this time around on Indian soil having getting whitewashed last year. The reigning T20 Asia Cup champions would be upbeat having handed India a six-wicket defeat in the Super Four clash of the continental tournament last September.
India
India will have to take a call on the opening partner of Ishan Kishan as they do have quite a few options like Shubman Gill and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Shivam Mavi and Mukesh Kumar may have to wait to make their debut. Umran Malik will be expected to find a place in the XI.
Probable XI – Ishan Kishan (WK), Ruturaj Gaikwad/Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Hardik Pandya (C), Washington Sundar, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh
Sri Lanka
Avishka Fernando and Sadeera Samarawickrama are back in the squad but they will be finding it difficult to find a place in the XI as the others have done well in recent times. The visitors will also have to pick one between Pramod Madushan and Dilshan Madushanka.
Probable XI – Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (WK), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka (C), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Lahiru Kumara, Pramod Madushan/Dilshan Madushanka
Fantasy XI Suggestion 1:
Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Bhanuka Rajapaksa (vc), Charith Asalanka, Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Lahiru Kumara, Arshdeep Singh, Maheesh Theekshana
Fantasy XI Suggestion 2:
Ishan Kishan, Kusal Mendis, Suryakumar Yadav, Charith Asalanka, Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya (c), Wanindu Hasaranga (vc), Axar Patel, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh, Maheesh Theekshana
