The Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the Indian squads for the T20I and ODI series against Sri Lanka and Hardik Pandya will once again lead the side for the T20I series.
The series will start on January 3rd and Indian skipper Rohit Sharma who is recovering from a thumb injury will miss the T20I series. Rohit will return to the squad for the ODI series.
While all-rounder Hardik Pandya leading the side for the 3-match T20I series, Suryakumar Yadav will assist him.
Also, star players like Virat Kohli and KL Rahul are not part of the T20I series, indicating that the trio of Kohli, Rahul, and Rohit may not be part of the 2024 T20 World Cup.
After India lost to England in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2022, Hardik Pandya has been assigned the captain of the side for a few T20Is. Pandya who has been the captain of Gujarat Titans in IPL 2022 is an apt replacement for Rohit in the T20I side with his amazing performance in the field.
This is the second consecutive series Pandya is leading India in T20Is. Since the tour to New Zealand in November after the World Cup. If the change in captaincy is a permanent change or just for one series is not clarified by BCCI.
“Yes, there will be no official announcement that Rohit has been removed from T20I captaincy but he along with Kohli and Rahul will be phased out from the format. Obviously, Rohit’s dislocated thumb injury hasn’t completely healed although he has started training. But phasing out has indeed started,”, a senior BCCI source reported.
Rishabh Pant is not part of both squads as he has been asked to report at NCA for his knee strengthening rehabilitation program for two weeks.
KL Rahul will be the wicket-keeper batsman for the ODI series. Shikhar Dhawan has been dropped from the ODI squad due to being out of form.
Indian pacers Shivam Mavi and Mukesh Kumar have got their maiden T20I call-ups this time. Both are picked for the 2023 IPL with a good margin during the mini-auction. Shivam Mavi was picked by the Titans for Rs. 6 crores. Mukesh Kumar was picked by Delhi capitals for 5.5 crores.
Ishan Kishan will be the wicketkeeper for the T20I side. Sanju Samson, Deepak Hooda, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi & Washington Sundar are part of the T20I squad.
India’s leading wicket-taker in T20Is, Buvneshwar Kumar, was also dropped from the squad. Youngsters Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik are in charge now for the Sri Lanka series.
The ODI side looks like more of an experienced side. Mohammad Shami will come back to the side after recovering from a shoulder injury.
India squad for Sri Lanka T20Is: Hardik Pandya (Captain), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (VC), Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, Mukesh Kumar.
India squad for Sri Lanka ODIs: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya (VC), Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh.
India tour of Sri Lanka Match Schedule
| Sl. No | Date | Time | Match | Venue |
| 1 | 03 January | 7.00 PM | T20 1 | Mumbai |
| 2 | 05 January | 7.00 PM | T20 2 | Pune |
| 3 | 07 January | 7.00 PM | T20 3 | Rajkot |
| 4 | 10 January | 1.30 PM | ODI 1 | Guwahati |
| 5 | 12 January | 1.30 PM | ODI 2 | Kolkata |
| 6 | 15 January | 1.30 PM | ODI 3 | Trivandrum |
