India have appointed Suryakumar Yadav as the captain of their men’s T20I team for the tour of Sri Lanka later this month, with Shubman Gill named as the vice-captain of both the T20I and ODI sides.
The middle-order batter, who has played 68 T20Is, led the team against Australia and South Africa last year in the absence of key players but has now been handed the reins of the team in the shortest format.
The T20I squad has a familiar look with several T20 World Cup stars like Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, and Axar Patel returning after missing the Zimbabwe series.
Jasprit Bumrah has been rested from the tour, while the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will play in the ODIs.
India’s forthcoming white-ball tour of Sri Lanka marks Gautam Gambhir’s debut assignment as the team’s new coach. Gambhir steps into this role following Rahul Dravid’s departure after leading the team to victory in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
This will be the first time since 2021 that India will travel to Sri Lanka for a bilateral series.
Meanwhile, the ODI squad features Riyan Parag, who made his debut in the T20I series in Zimbabwe. KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant are the wicketkeepers, with Sanju Samson missing out.
Pacer Harshit Rana, who impressed in the IPL 2024 season for the title winners Kolkata Knight Riders, is included in the ODI squad alongside Khaleel Ahmed.
India’s squads for Sri Lanka series
T20I Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Ꮪhubman Gill (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (WK), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammed Siraj.
ODI Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.
