"Humbled by the opportunity" - Shikhar Dhawan on being named India captain for Sri Lanka tour
In the absence of regular skipper Virat Kohli and his deputy Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan will lead India in the upcoming limited-overs series against Sri Lanka.
Dhawan was confirmed as captain when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday named a 20-member squad to tour Sri Lanka in July.
Reacting to the announcement on Twitter, Shikhar Dhawan thanked the fans and said he was grateful for the opportunity to lead India.
"Humbled by the opportunity to lead my country. Thank you for all your wishes."
Bhuvneshwar Kumar to serve as Shikhar Dhawan's deputy; Devdutt Padikkal, Chetan Sakariya among new faces selected
Veteran fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar will serve as Shikhar Dhawan's deputy on the tour of Sri Lanka. With several first-choice players unavailable, the BCCI has also rewarded many top performers on the domestic circuit with an India call-up.
Royal Challengers Bangalore opener Devdutt Padikkal, who has been in superlative form over the past year, has been named in the squad. Prithvi Shaw has also returned to the mix after his brilliant run in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he scored over 800 runs and guided Mumbai to the title.
Nitish Rana, who has scored consistently on the domestic circuit and in the IPL, has also earned a maiden call-up to the national team.
On the bowling front, Chetan Sakariya was rewarded after his impressive stint in IPL 2021 for the Rajasthan Royals earlier this year.
The three-match ODI series will begin on July 13 while the T20Is will commence on July 21. The R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo will host all six matches.
India squad for SL series:
Shikhar Dhawan (Captain), Prithvi Shaw, Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suryakumar Yadav, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Rana, Ishan Kishan (Wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (Wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar, K Gowtham, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Vice-captain), Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini, Chetan Sakariya
Net Bowlers: Ishan Porel, Sandeep Warrier, Arshdeep Singh, Sai Kishore, Simarjeet Singh