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Cricket PlayersGautam Gambhir to meet chief selector Ajit Agarkar: Hardik Pandya T20I captain; KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer to return for ODI
India's squad for Sri Lanka tour: Gautam Gambhir will meet the selectors soon. Hardik Pandya to be captain for T20Is. KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer to be back for ODIs
Newly-appointed India head coach Gautam Gambhir will meet the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee next week to pick squads for the T20I and ODI matches in Sri Lanka. India are slated to play three ODIs and as many T20Is there. The series will begin with the T20I series on July 26.
With captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah on an extended rest, Hardik Pandya’s workload will determine his future outlook. If a stop-gap captain is announced, KL Rahul, who last led India in an ODI series, may captain India in the 50-over format. Whether BCCI announces Hardik as the permanent T20I captain or decides to implement the same formula after the 2022 edition of the World Cup, where Hardik captained in Rohit's absence but was not given reigns officially, remains to be seen.
The all-rounder was India's vice-captain in the T20 World Cup and is the frontrunner to take over the T20I captaincy. The board officials and the senior members of the team are happy with Hardik's recent performance and believe he is the right man to take the forward in the shortest format. Suryakumar Yadav is likely to be appointed as vice-captain.
Barring Rohit, Kohli, Jadeja - all retired - and Bumrah, the T20 World Cup-winning squad members are likely to be retained for the Sri Lanka series. Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar and either Avesh Khan or Mukesh Kumar will find a place in the squad.
Sundar is being pitted as Jadeja's replacement in T20Is. The off-spinner has done quite well on his return to cricket in the Zimbabwe series. So have pacers Avesh and Mukesh. In Bumrah's absence, Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh will lead India's pace attack.
Rishabh Pant's workload may also be discussed. The left-hander has been playing nonstop cricket since IPL 2024. He is returning from a serious injury, and considering that he is the first-choice keeper in Tests, the selectors may opt to pick Sanju Samson and Dhurv Jurel as keepers for the Sri Lanka tour.
KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer to be back for ODIs
As far as ODIs are concerned, Rahul and Shreyas Iyer are likely to return. Gambhir has strong relations with both Iyer and Rahul. He was instrumental in handing over the Delhi Capitals captaincy to Iyer in the middle of IPL 2018. In the last IPL, Gambhir and Oyer teamed up to end KKR's decade-long trophy drought. This will be Iyer's first series since losing his central contract with BCCI.
Gambhir and Rahul, on the other hand, have worked together as mentor-captain for Lucknow Super Giants. After being out of T20 reckoning, Rahul’s performances will be closely watched. While he has time on his hand for a T20 return, Rahul is also being seen as a captaincy backup for Rohit in the Test format. It hasn’t helped, though, that the stylish batter from Bengaluru has remained injury-prone. Among the young crop, Shubman Gill is being earmarked for the job.
It could be argued that even during Dravid’s reign, players like Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were meted out the strictest punishment. But the replacements never let their absence be felt. That had a lot to do with an aligned vision between Dravid, Rohit and chief selector Agarkar.
Gambhir and Agarkar have been teammates before. For the two of them, their strategic calls with team captains, traversing across formats may have a huge bearing on Gambhir’s early days as head coach.
