India were left with mixed feelings on the eve of their ODI series against Sri Lanka as they would have Rohit Sharma and Rohit Sharma on one hand. Virat Kohli Returning to the other side, unfit pacer Jasprit Bumrah will again miss out on action.
Bumrah was expected to strengthen the bowling attack in the three-match series starting on Tuesday in Guwahati, but his return was further delayed as he failed to fully recover from a stress fracture in his lower back, which led to He had to miss several assignments, including the Asia Cup and T20 World cup.
There is now a question mark over whether the pacer will be available for the limited-overs home series against New Zealand starting January 18 and whether he will be in contention for the four-Test Border-Gavaskar series starting February 9.
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Together India All set to host the ODI World Cup in October-November this year, Bumrah’s last-minute exclusion is only adding to the mystery surrounding the fast bowler’s recovery and rehabilitation process.
The return of old guards Rohit, Kohli and KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, however, will give a huge boost to the hosts as they eye the series after their T20I win against Sri Lanka.
India have a packed ODI calendar with 15 matches barring the Asia Cup in a 10-month window in the build-up to the World Cup in October-November and the key will be not only to get the balance right but also to manage the workload. In between the Indian Premier League and the much-anticipated Australia Test series.
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But another injury to Bumrah has thrown water on the work of the team management.
There is also a lot of problem in choosing the top five batsmen.
Opener Rohit and No.3 Kohli are the pick of themselves, while in-form Ishan Kishan and Iyer will be difficult to drop.
Kishan recently played a sensational knock in his last ODI in Bangladesh when he scored a career-best 210. The youngster can take on Shubman Gill directly to open with Rohit. While Gill did not play the Bangladesh series in December last year, he has proved his worth as a player in the ODI format.
Iyer had a stellar performance in ODIs last year, scoring 724 runs in 15 innings at an average of 55.69. He was the backbone of India’s batting with his ability to rotate strike in the middle overs and tackle spin – a vital skill on sub-continent tracks.
Then there is a phenomenon named Suryakumar Yadav, whose T20 exploits have forced the management to ascertain his usefulness in the 50-over format. The middle-order batsman was fresh off his 112 not out off 51 balls in the 91-run win over Sri Lanka in the third and final T20I at Rajkot.
It was Surya’s third century in the format in seven months, making him the first player in the history of the game to score three T20I centuries without opening.
However, his ODI career hasn’t really taken off so far. Surya has scored 384 runs in 16 matches with just two half-centuries but he could get full support from the team management to improve his 50-over scores ahead of the World Cup.
With veteran pacer Mohammed Shami also back in the side, he too should feature in the playing XI along with one of Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik.
New vice-captain Hardik Pandya’s bowling prowess will also come in handy but for someone who has been ruled out for over a year due to a back injury in the lead-up to IPL 2022, it remains to be seen how many overs the captain will bowl to India’s premier Gets out. all rounder.
It will be a pleasant headache for India as they look to dominate the ODI phase and pull off a double whammy against the visitors, who have almost the same side that lost the T20I series 2-1.
Sri Lankan captain and star all-rounder Dasun Shanaka led by example in T20Is, emerging as the highest run-scorer with 124 runs at a strike rate of 187.87.
Sri Lanka will be looking for more stability at the top and will hope opener Pathum Nissanka gives them a solid start.
Nissanka was their leading run-getter last year (491 runs in 11 matches) and will look to continue from where he left off.
The middle order will be run by Charith Aslanka, who was also fruitful last year at an average of 53.25. The visitors have also drafted in leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay, who can do the job on Indian wickets.
Vandersay was their leading wicket-taker in ODIs last year, claiming 14 scalps in seven matches.
Teams (from)
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh.
Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka (c), Kusal Mendis (vc), Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Sadira Samarawickrama, Charith Aslanka, Dhananjay de Silva, Wanindu Hasaranga, Ashen Bandara, Mahesh Thikshana, Chamak Karunaratne, Dilshan Madushanka, Kasun Rajitha, Nuwanidu Fernando (ODI), Dunith Velalej, Pramod Madushan, Lahiru Kumara.
Match Start: 1.30 PM IST.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)