Washington Sundar or Ravi Bishnoi - who should start in India's playing 11 for Sri Lanka T20Is?
World champions India will take on Sri Lanka in the first T20I of a three-match series at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Pallekele on Saturday, July 27.
The two teams are off to a fresh start as far as their coaching staff are concerned. India have handed the top job to their former opener Gautam Gambhir, while Sri Lanka are coached on an interim basis by the legendary Sanath Jayasuriya.
Both teams are going to field young sides as that is the nature of this format of the game, and it will be exciting to follow the standard of cricket on offer. The sporting wickets in Pallekele will also help in this cause.
India will be in a bit of a quandary regarding the selection of either Washington Sundar or Ravi Bishnoi in their playing XI in the T20I series. Of course, both can be a part of the XI, but that looks unlikely.
Sundar may have a bit of an upper hand given that he is an all-rounder and a left-handed batter to boot. His off-breaks can come in handy for skipper Suryakumar Yadav inside the powerplay as well.
Bishnoi, for his part, offers a novel experience to the Indian squad with his expertise in leg-spin bowling. The variety that he offers, as well as consistency in hitting good areas, makes him a good option as well.
Washington Sundar had a good time against Zimbabwe
In India's last series against Zimbabwe where they played five T20Is, Sundar had a fine run of form. He picked up at least a wicket in every game that he played, with a two-wicket haul in the first match and a three-wicket haul in the third.
Although he did not get to bat too much in this series given that India's top-order players were in excellent form and rarely allowed others in the side to have a go, Sundar contributed with a handy 27 in the first T20I.
Bishnoi, who too was a part of the Indian squad for the tour to Zimbabwe, did not quite make any headlines despite being faced with a significantly weakened opposition that had little experience in playing spin.
The Rajasthan leggie's fast-paced deliveries failed to win him many takers, and apart from 4-13 and 2-11 in the first two matches, he went wicketless for the rest of the series. This must have been hard for him to swallow.
Current form backs the Tamil Nadu spinner more than it does Bishnoi, although the two of them are separated by just two wickets in their entire tally of the tour of Zimbabwe. For the Sri Lanka series, however, the former seems to be the more obvious choice.
His ability with the bat in hand is expected to work in his favor, as is the experience that he has under his belt. Washington Sundar may be the preferred option for the Gautam Gambhir-coached side in the T20I series.