IND vs SL: The Chetan Sharma-led BCCI selection committee gathered in Mumbai on Tuesday (December 27) to pick and announce India’s squads for the approaching ODI and T20I series against Sri Lanka. Both the squads picked by the five-member senior BCCI selection committee were ultimately announced on BCCI’s official website and social media sites late in the night.
The absence of some senior team members including the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and KL Rahul in the T20I squads remained a highly talked point post team announcement. Additionally, The long-standing opening batter Shikhar Dhawan was dropped from the ODI squad, which made headlines as young batter Shubamn Gill replaced him in the lineup.
Why was Rishabh Pant dropped from the India squad?
Meanwhile, The latest media report from the Times of India states selectors’ objective behind ignoring wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant during squad selection. Pant, allegedly, has been carrying a knee-related niggle for the last few months and has been advised to spend a week at the National Cricket Academy in order to undergo a strengthening program ahead of the New Zealand series.
It is believed that Rishabh Pant will remain available for the New Zealand series, which formally kicks off on January 18. The 25-year-old wicketkeeper is currently in Dubai (UAE) on New Year’s eve and is expected to head back to NCA Bangalore in the second week of January. Pant has had a horrible run in international Cricket in the last few months and he will be itching to go out on the field in order to get back into form.
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India’s squad for Sri Lanka T20Is: Hardik Pandya (capt), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (vice-capt), Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, Mukesh KumarIndia’s squad for Sri Lanka ODIs: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya (vice-capt), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh