In absence of Virat Kohli, who will lead Team India in Sri Lanka? Deep Dasgupta names his choices
Former India cricketer Deep Dasgupta has named his choices from among players who are not a part of India's Test squad travelling to England.
India are set to compete in a limited-overs series against Sri Lanka in July, but there is a catch. At the same time, the Virat Kohli-led Indian team will be competing against England in the five-match Test series, and hence, several key players will not be a part of the Sri Lanka series - including Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and KL Rahul.
With three main protagonists missing in action from the series, who will lead Team India in Sri Lanka. Former India cricketer Deep Dasgupta has named his choices from among players who are not a part of India's Test squad travelling to England.
"Obviously, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul are not available. The senior-most player available in that side is Shikhar, so Shikhar (captaincy option) I guess," Dasgupta said on Sports Today.
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"One of the questions was 'who do I see captaining the side?', I mentioned Shikhar, let's not forget, if Bhuvneshwar is fit and ready to play, he is a good captain candidate as well for that series," he added.
Dasgupta further said that he was not surprised to see Bhuvneshwar Kumar not being picked in the Test squad.
"I am not surprised (Kumar's omission from Test squad). They have already got 6 fast bowlers (for the England tour). I understand that those conditions might help Bhuvneshwar but he has not played red-ball cricket for 2 to 2 and half years. And he has struggled with his fitness post 2018," the former India wicketkeeper said.
"You don't know whether his body will take playing 5-day cricket. As a bowler, if you're playing, you might have to bowl 20 overs a day and come back the next day as well. I don't know whether you want to take that chance," he signed off.