Team India made as many as six changes to their team composition in the first T20I against Sri Lanka at the Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow. Deepak Hooda received his debut cap in T20Is while Sanju Samson returned to the team as Rohit Sharma named a rejigged starting eleven after Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka won the toss and elected to bowl.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and the fast bowling, spearhead Jasprit Bumrah also came back to the national set-up. Overall, India introduced six changes from the last game against the West Indies in Kolkata.
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During the toss, Rohit Sharma, said, “We were looking to chase as well, not sure how the pitches in India plays. But we now know we need to bat well, the last time we played here, about 4 years back, the pitch played well. Nothing changes as far as the goals of the team are concerned, need to do the right things as a team, need to keep ticking all the right boxes.”
UPDATE – Ruturaj Gaikwad complained of pain in his right wrist, which is affecting his batting. He was unavailable for selection for the first T20I. The BCCI Medical Team is examining him.@Paytm #INDvSL
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 24, 2022
ODI debut ✅
T20I debut ✅Congratulations to @HoodaOnFire who is set to play his maiden T20I game. 👏 👏#TeamIndia | #INDvSL | @Paytm pic.twitter.com/4aUqemcFMF
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 24, 2022
About Ruturaj Gaikwad’s absence from the XI, Rohit Sharma said that the young opener was set to play the game but a wrist injury ruled him out. He explained, “It’s a challenge for the new gutsy – from the last game we played, we have 6 changes. Ruturaj was supposed to play, but he has a wrist injury and will not play today.”
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The home assignment against Sri Lanka is India’s second hurdle in their build-up to this year’s T20 World Cup. India had defeated the West Indies 3-0 in their previous T20I assignment.
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Ishan Kishan(w), Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Charith Asalanka, Dinesh Chandimal(w), Janith Liyanage, Dasun Shanaka(c), Chamika Karunaratne, Jeffrey Vandersay, Praveen Jayawickrama, Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Kumara
