Ind vs. SL 2021: 3 players who could make their debut in the second T20I for India
Indian all-rounder Krunal Pandya testing COVID-19 positive has been the headline in sports publications. Pandya and the eight players who came in close contact with him are out for the remaining two T20Is of the Sri Lanka tour.
With a recent ANI report saying the remaining matches will go ahead as planned, the Indian think-tank is set to hand debuts to a string of players who have been waiting their turn.
The changes start with the opening combination. Prithvi Shaw was listed as one of the close contacts, and with him not playing as per the report, India has two options in Devdutt Padikkal and Ruturaj Gaikwad who can hope to make the playing XI.
The report said Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Deepak Chahar, Ishan Kishan, Manish Pandey, and K Gowtham were identified as close contacts and hence will not be playing the remaining two T20Is.
With this piece of news, we take a look at three players who could make their debut in the second T20I.
#1 Devdutt Padikkal
Padikkal found himself in the squad after some consistent performances in the domestic circuit and the IPL.
The Karnataka batter notched up 737 runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy earlier this year. He then followed it up with a stellar first half of IPL 2021 for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), which included a hundred against the Rajasthan Royals.
With Shaw in isolation, Padikkal will be hoping to replace the Mumbai batter unless Ruturaj Gaikwad comes in to provide India with a left-right opening combination.
#2 Nitish Rana
The lack of all-rounders serves as a double whammy for India, but Nitish Rana could be the extra batting option needed to beef up the batting order that will have Dhawan and Sanju Samson.
Rana scored 398 runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and then turned up for the Kolkata Knight Riders, scoring 201 runs from seven games in IPL 2021.
He could be one of the middle-order additions in the second match.
#3 Chetan Sakariya as India's fifth bowling option
Sakariya could be the fifth bowling option for India with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Chakravarthy, Rahul Chahar, and Navdeep Saini.
The 23-year-old made his ODI debut in the third match against Sri Lanka, picking up two wickets, and stands a chance of making the playing XI in the absence of Krunal Pandya and other key players.
Who do you think will be the other options for India?