In a clear indication of where the team is heading, the senior national selection committee in its final meeting to pick the squad for India limited-overs series against Sri Lanka have named Hardik Pandya as vice-captain for the ODIs as he continues to lead in T20Is.
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Similarly, Sanju Samson has been dropped from the ODI squad, but has been included in the T20s, meaning he is unlikely to be in the scheme of things for the World Cup next year. KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan have been named as wicketkeepers for the ODIs.
Interestingly, there is no place for Rishabh Pant in both the squads. The press release issued by the BCCI didn’t clarify if Pant was injured, rested or dropped. The Delhi wicketkeeper in fact missed the ODIs against Bangladesh after the BCCI decided to rest him ahead of the two-match Test series. The other notable omission is that of pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
While experienced players Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Rahul didn’t find a space in the T20I squad, they all have been included for the ODI series that begins on January 10. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who underwent a knee-surgery, along with pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who missed the T20 World Cup with back injury, have not been included in both the squads.
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The only surprise call is that of Shivam Mavi, who received his maiden call-up to the national squad. The 24-year-old UP pacer has been included for the three-matchT20I series beginning in Mumbai on January 3.
While Washington Sundar, Axar Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal are part of both the squads, Kuldeep Yadav finds place only in the ODI side.
Despite eye-catching T20 numbers Mumbai’s Prithvi Shaw failed to make the cut as the selectors went with Ruturaj Gaikwad as one of the three openers alongside Kishan and Shubman Gill. India’s failure to make most of the powerplay overs has been a cause of concern and Shaw, despite having an incredible T20 strike-rate of 151.67 has been over-looked once again.
Squads:
T20I: Pandya (C), Kishan (wk), Gaikwad, Gill, Suryakumar (VC), Hooda, Tripathi, Samson, Washington, Chahal, Axar, Arshdeep, Harshal, Umran, Mavi, Mukesh.
ODIs: Rohit (C), Gill, Kohli, Suryakumar, Shreyas, Rahul (wk), Kishan (wk), Pandya (VC), Washington, Chahal, Kuldeep, Axar, Shami, Siraj, Umran, Arshdeep.
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