Looking at Team India's possible opening combinations in the series against Sri Lanka
Team India is all set to tour Sri Lanka next month. The Men in Blue will play three ODIs and three T20Is during the brief visit to their island neighbours.
Unfortunately, many star Indian players are unavailable for this tour because of the Test series against England. The likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant are in the United Kingdom right now, gearing up for the ICC World Test Championship Final against New Zealand.
After the game against the Blackcaps, the Indian squad will rest for a few days in the UK. They will then play five Test matches against England in August and September. As the Sri Lanka tour will take place in July, the BCCI have decided against using most of their star cricketers for the white-ball games.
New faces like Chetan Sakariya, Krishnappa Gowtham and Varun Chakravarthy will be expected to carry the bowling department for Team India in the Sri Lanka series. Speaking of the batting unit, fans may see some new faces in the top-order. Here's a look at three possible opening combinations for Team India in this series.
1. Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw are most likely to open for Team India against Sri Lanka
Former India U-19 captain Prithvi Shaw has returned to the Indian ODI team after losing his place last year. His brilliant performances in the IPL and the domestic circuit have helped Shaw receive another chance to prove himself in the blue jersey.
Shaw was one of the leading run-getters in the first phase of IPL 2021, which means the team management will probably name him as one of the openers. Shaw also formed a splendid partnership with Shikhar Dhawan at the Delhi Capitals this year.
The best option for Team India would be to go ahead with the in-form opening pair of Shaw and Dhawan in this series.
2. Shikhar Dhawan and Ruturaj Gaikwad
Another right-handed opening option available with the Indian team management is Chennai Super Kings star Ruturaj Gaikwad. The 24-year-old from Pune has performed exceptionally well for CSK in the last two IPL seasons.
Like Prithvi Shaw, Gaikwad can provide explosive starts for his team. So far, Ruturaj has played 59 List-A matches in his career, amassing 2,681 runs at an average of 47.87. His highest score of 187* shows that he can score big once he gets going.
The team management might give Ruturaj Gaikwad his maiden international cap during the Sri Lanka tour. Team India is scheduled to play six matches, and it won't be a surprise if Ruturaj opens with captain Shikhar Dhawan in one of the games.
3. Devdutt Padikkal and Shikhar Dhawan
Teams generally prefer to have a right-hand-left-hand opening pair. This combination does not allow the bowlers to settle. However, if the team management plans to include Devdutt Padikkal in the playing XI, they will have to go with an opening pair of two southpaws.
Dhawan will probably play all matches on this tour, and Prithvi Shaw will certainly be the first-choice opening partner. But Team India can try Devdutt Padikkal in one of the T20Is.
Padikkal has done exceptionally well for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. The 20-year-old player recently smashed his first IPL ton. It will be interesting to see if he gets a chance to open with Shikhar Dhawan against Sri Lanka.