India tour of Sri Lanka 2024 squad announcement updates: Suryakumar Yadav named T20I captain; Rohit, Kohli in ODI squad
19:30 The senior men’s selection committee has named India’s squads for the upcoming white-ball tour of Sri Lanka. As was widely reported, Suryakumar Yadav has been named captain of the T20I squad ahead of Hardik Pandya, while Ꮪhubman Gill has been picked as his deputy.
Rohit Sharma will lead the one-day squad, while Virat Kohli is also part of the team. Gill has been named vice-captain of the ODI squad as well. Middle-order batter Riyan Parag finds a place in both the one-day and the T20I squads.
There is no place for Shreyas Iyer in the T20I team, but he has been picked for the ODIs in Sri Lanka. Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has been left out from both teams, while Pandya has been rested for the one-dayers. There is no place for opening batter Ruturaj Gaikwad in either of the white-ball squads.
Lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who was the Player of the Tournament in the 2024 T20 World Cup, has been rested for the Sri Lanka tour. Also, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who retired from T20Is after the T20 World Cup, does not feature in the ODI squad.
T20I squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Ꮪhubman Gill (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed
ODI squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Ꮪhubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh
The Men in Blue will play three T20Is and as many ODIs in Sri Lanka from July 27 to August 7.
The T20I matches (July 27, July 28, July 30) will be played at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, while the one-dayers (Aug 2, Aug 4, Aug 7) will be held at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
16:30 Team India's T20I squad and ODI squads for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka are likely to be announced on Thursday, July 18. According to reports, the BCCI senior selection committee is set to meet on Thursday evening via zoom call. BCCI secretary Jay Shah has flown to Sri Lanka for the International Cricket Council (ICC) annual conference.
The tour of Sri Lanka will be the maiden assignment of former opener Gautam Gambhir as Team India's head coach. He has taken over from Rahul Dravid whose tenure ended on a high as the Men in Blue lifted the 2024 T20 World Cup by beating South Africa in the final in Barbados.
Here are some of the significant developments ahead of the squad announcement for India's white-ball tour of Sri Lanka.
Suryakumar could pip Pandya as T20I captain
All-rounder Hardik Pandya was the vice-captain when India won the 2024 T20 World Cup under Rohit Sharma's leadership. However, numerous media reports are claiming that Suryakumar Yadav is likely to be named T20I captain ahead of Pandya for the upcoming series in Sri Lanka.
As per a report in ESPNcricinfo, Suryakumar is set to be named T20I captain for the three-match series in Sri Lanka. The report stated that fitness concerns and workload management are the key factors that go against Pandya when it comes to picking the new T20I leader following Rohit's retirement from the format.
Further, a report in the Times of India quoted multiple sources as saying that both coach Gambhir and Rohit prefer Suryakumar as T20I captain over Pandya. Suryakumar had led India in seven T20Is, winning five and losing two. As for Pandya, he has captained the Men in Blue in 16 matches, winning 10 of them.
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli could feature in ODIs
15:30: As per a report in The Indian Express, Rohit and Virat Kohli could both be part of the three-match one-day series in Sri Lanka. Initially, it was stated that Rohit, Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah would be rested, keeping their workload in mind. Gambhir, though, reportedly put forward a request, asking the seniors to be available since there are not too many ODIs before the 2025 Champions Trophy.
The report claimed that both Rohit and Kohli have agreed to feature in the one-day leg of the Sri Lanka tour. Bumrah, however, would be rested, while Pandya is also likely to miss the one-dayers due to personal reasons. The report also claimed Riyan Parag has emerged as a dark horse considering the fact that he can turn his arm over as well. Shreyas Iyer is also likely to be picked in the ODI squad.
KL Rahul or Shubman Gill could be named ODI captain if Rohit is unavailable
In case Rohit is unavailable for the one-day series in Sri Lanka, KL Rahul or Shubman Gill could be named as captain for the ODIs. It may be recalled that Rahul, who has also kept wickets in ODIs, was India's captain in the one-day series that India played in South Africa. He may be out of the Test and T20I squads, but is a certainty in the 50-over format.
As for Gill, he recently led a second-string T20I squad during the five-match tour of Zimbabwe. India won the series 4-1, with the skipper finishing as the leading run-getter, with 170 runs from five innings at an average of 42.50 and a strike rate of 125.93.