Ind vs. SL 2021: "2 minutes silence for all fantasy players" - Delhi Capitals ask fans to predict India's playing XI for second T20I
Amid growing uncertainty about India's playing XI against Sri Lanka in the second T20I, the Delhi Capitals took to Instagram to engage their fans while also taking a subtle dig at fantasy players.
The franchise asked for predictions about who would make the playing XI following the news of Krunal Pandya testing positive for COVID-19. His close contacts were kept under isolation and, as per reports, have tested negative.
As of Wednesday (July 28), a report by The Times of India listed the names of players who were in close contact with the all-rounder.
The report said Krunal Pandya's brother Hardik, Devdutt Padikkal, Ishan Kishan, Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav, and Krishnappa Gowtham were among his close contacts.
DC captioned the post:
"Your guess is as good as ours 🤷🏻♂💬 #SLvIND." You can view the post below:
Predicting India's playing XI:
It is unclear at the moment if the players in contact with Krunal and tested negative will take the field, but in case they don't, India will be going ahead with a major overhaul.
The likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Chetan Sakariya, Navdeep Saini, and Nitish Rana will have a shot at making the playing XI.
Earlier, we had predicted our playing XI for the second T20I:
Shikhar Dhawan (Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Manish Pandey, Sanju Samson (Wicket-keeper), Nitish Rana, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Chakravarthy, Deepak Chahar, Rahul Chahar, Chetan Sakariya
India will head into the second T20I with a 1-0 record. They won their first game comprehensively by 38 runs and will be keen to close out the series.
There is no doubt that the absence of Krunal Pandya will be a blow for the visitors. With Hardik going through a slump himself, the spin-bowling all-rounder was one of India's key players to help win the series.
Should management decide to rest their contingent of close contacts, India will have their work cut out in the second match.
For Sri Lanka, it is an opportunity to equal the series and add some spice ahead of the third match. But for the most part, the series is all about getting a chance to prepare for the upcoming ICC World T20.