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KL Rahul vs Shubman Gill for India captaincy as Hardik Pandya pulls out of Sri Lanka ODIs: Report
Either KL Rahul or Shubman Gill will lead India in the Sri Lanka ODIs as Hardik Pandya had decided to pull out of the three-match series due to personal reasons
Hardik Pandya has requested the board to give him a break during the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, paving way for either KL Rahul or Shubman Gill to take over captaincy as regular captain Rohit Sharma is also unlikely to feature in the tour. The star all-rounder, however, is the frontrunner to lead India in the three-match T20I series that will precede the ODIs in Sri Lanka.
India's tour of Sri Lanka will begin with the T20I series on July 27. Hardik will be ready to take over the reins from Rohit Sharma in the shortest format. However, one of the heroes of India's T20 World Cup victory last month will take a break during the three-match ODI series, which is scheduled in August, due to "personal reasons".
"Hardik Pandya was India's T20 vice-captain under Rohit Sharma. He is completely fit and available for the three-match T20I series and will lead the side," a senior BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
Rohit, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja retired from T20 Internationals at the end of the World Cup.
The T20Is against Sri Lanka will run from July 27 to 30 in Pallekele, followed by the ODIs from August 2 to 7 in Colombo. The squad for the series is expected to be announced in the next couple of days.
While there is still no clarity on who would be Pandya's deputy, the toss-up is between Shubman Gill, who recently captained India to a 4-1 series win over Zimbabwe, and Suryakumar Yadav, who led the side during the T20Is against South Africa last year. Chances are high that the ball will land in Surya's favour as he is being seen as a backup captain. He too has had a good outing as captain in the home series against Australia last year and in a couple matches in South Africa.
About the ODIs, the official confirmed that Pandya has asked for leave and has already communicated this to regular skipper Rohit Sharma, who is also taking a break from this series.
"The break from ODIs is for very personal reasons. Hardik doesn't have any fitness issue as is being floated in the media," the official said.
For the ODIs, KL Rahul, who led in the last ODI series in South Africa, and Gill are in contention for the leadership role.
KL Rahul was India's captain in the last ODI series that the team played in South Africa and besides, he is the first-choice keeper-batter in this format. Rahul has been out of favour in the other favourites but he sill continues to be one of the first picks in ODIs.
