After securing a nail-biting win by just a couple of series in the opening T20I of three-match series on Tuesday (January 3), Team India would like to seal the series against Sri Lanka in the second T20I, which will take place at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Thursday (January 5). Under the captaincy of Hardik Pandya, the hosts witnessed a top-order collapse including Sanju Samson, but Deepak Hooda and Axar Patel rescued them with an unbeaten 68-run partnership.

If the total was enough to create tension in the Sri Lankan dressing room, then debutant Shivam Mavi took it a further up by scalping a couple of wickets inside the first four overs of the run chase only. From there on, it was all India’s game, and despite a heroic effort by captain Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Chamika Karunaratne, Sri Lanka fell short by just 2 runs and eventually suffered a heartbreaking defeat.

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In the second T20I, Sri Lanka will be expecting nothing less than a win if they want to keep the series alive, but it won’t be easy as the men in blue are a far superior team at home, and despite the collapse in the first match, they are likely to dominate the second T20I in a row. However, for India, there is an injury concern as star wicket-keeper batter Sanju Samson has been ruled out of the remaining dtwo matches and Jitesh Sharma, the Vidarbha wicketkeeper-batter, has been called in as cover.

Sanju Samson has been ruled out of the T20I series against Sri Lanka due to a knee injury#INDvSL

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) January 4, 2023

The 28-year-old sustained a knee injury in the series opener and will not be able to feature in the remaining T20Is for the series. In his place, Rahul Tripathi will be expected to make his international debut. Tripathi has traveled with the Indian team for quite some time now but has not gotten a chance to make his debut to date. However, on Thursday in Pune, he could get a chance to play for India for the first time.

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Another player who can be considered in place of Sanju is all-rounder Washington Sundar. In addition, he has good bowling ability and can be used in powerplay. Yuzvendra Chahal has been struggling to make an impact for quite some time now, and if he misses out on making room for a fit-again Arshdeep Singh, then as an additional bowling option, Sundar will be expected to give an apt help. 

India’s likely playing XI for the 2nd T20I: Ishan Kishan (wk), Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Shivam Mavi, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh.