‘A result of a lot of hard work’: Coach Dravid welcomes Suryakumar, Ishan Kishan to the Indian ODI team - WATCH

Rahul Dravid, the head coach for the Sri Lanka tour, on Sunday welcomed both the youngsters in the ODI setup with an motivational speech. The official Twitter handle of BCCI shared a video in which Dravid could be seen welcoming Suryakumar and Ishan.

Batsman Suryakumar Yadav and wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan made their ODI debuts on Sunday in the opening encounter of the 3-match series against Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

Suryakumar Yadav (L) and Ishan Kishan (R) made their ODI debuts on Sunday (HT Collage)

Both Suryakumar and Ishan, who play for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL), had also made their T20I debuts together when back in the month of March during the T20I series against England. The duo had a great first outing with the bat, smashing quick-fire half-centuries.

Rahul Dravid, the head coach for the Sri Lanka tour, on Sunday welcomed both the youngsters in the ODI setup with an motivational speech. The official Twitter handle of BCCI shared a video in which Dravid could be seen welcoming Suryakumar and Ishan.

“It's obviously a great achievement, it's lovely to welcome two people into the family. It is a result of a lot of hard work, it is a really proud moment for them but also for their family. Double celebration for Ishan Kishan today as it is his birthday,” said Dravid while addressing the team huddle before the start of the first ODI. (IND vs SL 1st ODI Live)

Ishan Kishan was handed his debut cap by captain Shikhar Dhawan while vice-captain Bhuvneshwar Kumar handed the cap to Suryakumar Yadav.

Earlier, Dasun Shanaka-led Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat against India. India might have picked a plethora of young guns for the Sri Lanka series but the visitors will still start as favourites in the ODI series.

Despite the absence of star players such as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and Jasprit Bumrah, India is well ahead of Sri Lanka considering the visitors' squad comprises of Dhawan, Suryakumar Yadav, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar and Deepak Chahar.

(With Agency Inputs)