IND vs SL Dream11 prediction: 3 players you can pick as captain or vice-captain for today's 1st T20I - February 24, 2022
India (IND) will lock horns with Sri Lanka (SL) in the first T20I of their three-match series at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow, on Thursday, February 24.
The Men in Blue, captained by Rohit Sharma, recently became ICC’s No. 1 T20I team after beating the West Indies 3-0 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Virat Kohli won’t be a part of the series and the 33-year-old will return for the Test that follows the three T20Is.
The Lankans, led by Dasun Shanaka, on the other hand, are having a tough time of late. They lost the five-match T20I series to Australia 4-1. After tasting defeat in four games on the trot, Lanka secured a consolation win in the last and final T20I on February 20 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
On that note, here are three players whom you can pick as captain or vice-captain for your Dream11 team for the IND vs SL contest.
#3 Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma has been in decent form in recent times. The 34-year-old looked in pretty fluent touch in the series against the West Indies, having scored 66 runs at an average of 22. The Nagpur-born has also done well against the Lankans over the years.
In 13 innings, the right-hander has notched 289 runs at an average of 22.23 and a strike-rate of 143.78. Back in December 2017, he also smashed the joint-fastest T20 ton against the Islanders off 35 balls. Opening the batting, Sharma scored 118 off 43 with 12 fours and 10 sixes.
#2 Yuzvendra Chahal
Yuzvendra Chahal has been amongst the wickets of late in the limited-overs format. He won the Player of the Match award after his four-wicket haul in an ODI against the West Indies earlier this month. Chahal even got two wickets in as many T20Is against the Caribbean team.
Chahal has an impressive record against Sri Lanka. In fact, he is the leading wicket-taker in T20Is between the two nations. In seven games, the leg-spinner has picked up 15 wickets at an economy rate of 8.92. Chahal also has a couple of four-wicket hauls to his name.
#1 Maheesh Theekshana
Having made his Sri Lanka debut back in September 2021, Maheesh Theekshana has so far made the right noise at the highest level. The tweaker was also a part of Lanka’s scheme of things in the T20 World Cup. In 15 T20Is, the spinner has picked up 14 wickets at an impressive economy rate of 6.41.
He recently played against Australia, picking up five wickets in five games. Theekshana's best figures of 3/24 came in the third game at the Manuka Oval in Canberra.
The Indian team doesn’t have much idea about Theekshana, who could take advantage of the spin-friendly conditions in India.