Team India would definitely feel disappointed after finishing the 3-match Test series against Sri Lanka with a scoreline of 1-0. They got very close to whitewashing the series as the Kolkata and the Delhi Test ended on the final day. However, they need to move on and regroup before heading into the limited overs series.
The men in blue will be looking to thrash the Islanders in 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is in the span of next couple of weeks. The last time these two nations locked horns with each other in the shorter formats, Team India had defeated the Sri Lankan team in both formats comprehensively. Now, the times have changed and the Sri Lankan team looks very improved as well.
Moreover, the Indian team isn’t the same as well. Virat Kohli has been rested and Rohit Sharma will be leading squad. In addition to this, the inclusion of a plethora of youngsters in the side makes the team selection even more difficult for the management. We made an attempt to pick the best combination that is likely to take the field at Dharamsala in the first ODI.
The fitness concerns surrounding Shikhar Dhawan (fever) and Kedar Jadhav (injury) were cleared by Rohit, but the duo is to be assessed further on the eve of the first ODI before deciding the final XI. In case Dhawan fails to make it, Ajinkya Rahane could open alongside his skipper after having been endorsed as the backup opener for long.
However, in the middle-order, Manish Pandey and Dinesh Karthik will fill the crucial no.3 and no.4 spots followed by MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav or Shreyas Iyer if he is not available.
Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan/Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav/Shreyas Iyer, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal.