Suryakumar Yadav has been appointed as the captain of India’s T20I team for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, as confirmed by the BCCI on Thursday (July 18) while revealing the squads. In contrast, Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for the entire tour, with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli included in the ODI squad.
Shubman Gill has been named vice-captain of both squads, following his recent leadership role during India’s tour of Zimbabwe. This move is noteworthy given that Hardik Pandya had previously served as India’s vice-captain during the ODI World Cup in 2023 and the recent T20 World Cup. Reports suggest that Hardik’s ongoing fitness concerns have influenced the selectors’ decision to not promote him to captaincy, and he will miss the ODI leg of the tour.
T20I Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohd. Siraj.
ODI Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.
There were uncertainties regarding the availability of senior players Rohit and Kohli for the ODIs, but both will bolster the batting lineup under Gautam Gambhir’s guidance in his first assignment as India’s new coach. KL Rahul, who wasn’t part of the T20 World Cup squad, retains his ODI spot along with Shreyas Iyer. However, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has not been selected for the ODIs, with Washington Sundar and Riyan Parag included instead.
Despite their impressive performances in the T20I series against Zimbabwe, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Abhishek Sharma have not been included in the squads. Another notable omission is Sanju Samson, who had scored a century in India’s last ODI and has shown consistent performance in his limited chances. Nevertheless, Samson remains in the T20I squad.
In the pace department, Harshit Rana has been added as the fourth pacer in the ODI squad, joining Khaleel Ahmed, Mohd. Siraj, and Arshdeep Singh. Rishabh Pant, who had a successful comeback in the T20 World Cup, is back in the ODI setup.
Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel will spearhead the spin attack in the ODIs, with Axar also part of the T20I squad. Ravi Bishnoi is the wrist spin option for the T20I leg, while Yuzvendra Chahal, who was part of the T20 World Cup squad, has been left out.
The tour begins on July 27 with the T20I series in Pallekele, followed by the ODIs in Colombo.