Who will lead India's pace attack in the series against Sri Lanka?
The Indian cricket team's premier all-format fast bowlers - Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami - are currently in England preparing for the final of the World Test Championship and subsequent five-Test series against the hosts.
Meanwhile, the Indian selectors have named a second-string squad which will tour Sri Lanka in July for three ODIs and three T20Is. The white-ball series may seem insignificant, objectively speaking, but it will have a major say in selection for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
In a country like Sri Lanka, where spinners often find success, quality pacers could be the difference between a good bowling attack and an outstanding one. Who will lead India's pace attack in the series against Sri Lanka?
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has a task on his hands as the leader of the Indian pace attack in Sri Lanka
Bhuvneshwar Kumar. There's no doubt. The 31-year-old will not only serve as the leader of the pace attack but also as the vice-captain of the side, deputizing for veteran batsman Shikhar Dhawan.
In Sri Lanka, Bhuvneshwar will have a task on his hands as he attempts to shepherd a young, inexperienced pace contingent which comprises of Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar and Chetan Sakariya.
Bhuvneshwar will have his own injuries to contend with. The Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer struggled with a hip injury in the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL), before a thigh issue surfaced during this year's tournament. But he will need to stay fit throughout the tour, as India don't really have many backups to make up for his absence.
Deepak Chahar has played only three ODIs - one in 2018 and two in 2019. Making a return to the 50-over playing XI, the swing bowler will take the new ball with Bhuvneshwar and attempt to put Sri Lanka on the backfoot immediately. Whether Chahar can make an impact at the death remains to be seen, but he recently claimed that he's more comfortable bowling at the fag end of the innings than in the powerplay.
Navdeep Saini is another bowler who desperately needs to make an impression. Once regarded as the future of the Indian pace attack thanks to his raw pace and aggression, the tearaway quick now isn't a regular across formats and wasn't even part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore playing XI for most of IPL 2021.
Saini is the only out-and-out pace option India have for the Sri Lanka tour, and on pitches that don't offer much purchase, he will be vital to the team's fortunes. Expected to come on as a first-change bowler, the 28-year-old will also need to hit his yorkers at the death.
The final component of India's pace attack for the Sri Lanka tour, Chetan Sakariya comes into his maiden series with the national team as a raw, unfinished product. After taking six wickets across his first three IPL 2021 games, he managed only one over the next four. Chosen due to his youth and the variety he adds as a left-arm pacer, Sakariya may not be part of the playing XI initially but remains an exciting option all fans will root for.
It must be said that India's pace fortunes in Sri Lanka come down to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has 17 wickets in 13 ODIs at an economy rate of 4.56 and one wicket in two T20Is at an economy rate of 7.71 against the island nation. He will be expected to set the tone of the innings with some early wickets and then serve as the strike bowler throughout, coming in for one or two-over spells. Finally, he will need to be accurate at the death.
Bhuvneshwar will take heart from his last outing for India, which came in the limited-overs series against England. He scalped six wickets in three ODIs and four wickets in five T20Is, consistently providing breakthroughs in the powerplay and coming back to cause the Englishmen problems at the death.
Will Bhuvneshwar Kumar rise to the occasion and become an all-format regular for the Indian team once again? Only time will tell.