After an exciting T20I series, which India won 2-1, the Men In Blue are all set to take on Sri Lanka in a three-match ODI series, which starts from Tuesday in Guwahati. The series also marks India's preparation for the upcoming ODI World Cup, which will be played later this year in India.
Ahead of the series, skipper Rohit Sharma, who is returning to action after recovering from a thumb injury, confirmed that Shubman Gill will open the innings with him. There was another major development as Jasprit Bumrah was removed from the squad in the last minute with the pacer complaining of stiff back.
In this article we look at the possible line-up, which India may field in the first ODI at the northeastern state.
Rohit will open the innings with Gill as confirmed by the skipper in the pre-match press conference. Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer is likely to fill in the middle-order slot. All three were part of the recently-concluded Bangladesh ODIs, which India lost 1-2. It won't be possible to look beyond Shreyas as he has been the best Indian middle-order batter in ODIs in the last 12 months or so. This means, there is no place for Suryakumar Yadav, who scored his third T20I century a couple of days ago.
{{/usCountry}}Rohit will open the innings with Gill as confirmed by the skipper in the pre-match press conference. Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer is likely to fill in the middle-order slot. All three were part of the recently-concluded Bangladesh ODIs, which India lost 1-2. It won't be possible to look beyond Shreyas as he has been the best Indian middle-order batter in ODIs in the last 12 months or so. This means, there is no place for Suryakumar Yadav, who scored his third T20I century a couple of days ago.
{{/usCountry}}With Ishan Kishan unlikely to feature in any of the three ODIs, KL Rahul will also be taking up the wicketkeeping responsibilities.
Hardik Pandya spearhead the Indian attack in the T20Is last week, and will hope to carry forward the momentum as action shifts from T20Is to 50-over cricket. Axar Patel, who had a fantastic outing in the T20Is, having also been named as the player of the series, is also likely to retain his spot in the XI ahead of Washington Sundar.
Meanwhile, Kuldeep Yadav may be preferred ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal in the spin department considering the recent performances. He along with Axar will play a key role if India decide to field three seamers.
If that is the case Mohammed Shami could be used as one as he is the most experience among the lot. Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh could be the other two speedsters.
India predicted XI vs Sri Lanka 1st ODI:
Openers: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill
Middle-order: Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Shreyas Iyer
All-rounder: Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel
Spinner: Kuldeep Yadav
Pacers: Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh