Team India will hope to begin a new era in the shortest format on a positive note when they take on Sri Lanka in the first of three T20Is in Mumbai on Tuesday.
The three-match series marks a radical shift in India’s approach to the format as they embark upon the road to the 2024 T20 World Cup with Hardik Pandya at the helm and Suryakumar Yadav his deputy, besides also being their first assignment of the new year.
While Pandya had captained India in their tours of Ireland and New Zealand last year, the general feeling was that of him filling on for regular skipper Rohit Sharma back then.
However, with the BCCI choosing to do away with Rohit, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul in the shortest format following the T20 World Cup, where India got brutally outplayed by England in the semis, there is little doubt as to who India’s T20I leader is going forward.
Though the T20 format will not be in as much focus as it was in 2022, given we have now entered an ODI World Cup year where the 50-over format takes precedence over others, it does matter on the longer run given it is the start of a new journey.
Focus on Indian top-order
The Men in Blue are unbeaten in bilateral T20I competitions since the 2021 T20 World Cup, having won nine out of 10 series’ with the five-match rubber against South Africa last summer ending in a 2-2 draw.
A record as formidable as that does give the Indian team the upper hand against the Sri Lankans, who have lost 11 of their last 13 bilateral series since 2019, though their performances certainly have improved a notch of late.
The focus for the hosts will be on finding the ideal replacements for the star trio of Rohit, Virat and Rahul, whose scoring rate had become something of a worry especially in multi-nation tournaments such as the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup.
While there will be little doubt over Ishan Kishan taking up one of the opener’s slots, especially after his heroic 210 in the third ODI against Bangladesh where he looked set to breach the 300-barrier at one point, it comes down to choosing between Shubman Gill and Ruturaj Gaikwad as Kishan’s opening partner.
Though Gill has been consistent across formats, it’s Gaikwad’s enviable scoring rate in the domestic scene that perhaps puts him ahead in the pecking order.
Another toss-up in the Indian XI will be in the middle order where the team management will have to choose between Sanju Samson and Rahul Tripathi for a middle-order spot, most likely below skipper Hardik.
Despite the hosts picking the uncapped pair of Shivam Mavi and Mukesh Kumar, they are likely to persist with tried-and-tried options such as Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik (pace) and Yuzvendra Chahal and Axar Patel (spin).
Chahal, especially, will hope to establish himself as the first-choice spinner in white-ball cricket starting with this series with Ravindra Jadeja injured and the Men in Blue overlooking Ravichandran Ashwin.
Lankan Lions seek inspiration from recent success
Though the Sri Lankans have not had much success in bilateral T20I cricket over the last four years, they certainly have been on the rise in multi-nation events of late.
The Dasun Shanaka-led side had after all defied all odds not just to reach the final of the Asia Cup in August-September, but to beat pre-tournament favourites Pakistan in the summit clash and win their first major tournament in eight years in the process.
The Sri Lankans haven’t played much cricket since lifting the Asia Cup for a sixth time on 11 September, a drawn three-match ODI series against Afghanistan at home being their only slice of cricketing action since then besides the T20 World Cup, where they clawed their way out of the First Round despite losing their opening game against Namibia, going as far as the Super 12s.
Openers Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis have been in sparkling form of late and will be a key hope as far as the Lankan batting order is concerned. Also in focus from the visiting contingent will be star all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga, who is Shanaka’s deputy in the 20-over format and was among the top-two wicket-takers in both the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup, besides also starring with the bat occasionally.
The Sri Lankan selectors, led by former seamer Pramodya Wickramasinghe, have also decided to reward top performers in the recently-concluded Lanka Premier League, which held its third edition in December.
Both Avishka Fernando and Sadeera Samarawickrama played a key role in leading Jaffna Kings to a third straight title, finishing first and second respectively in the batting chart. Both have consequently been rewarded with a place in the India touring party, with Fernando likely to pair with Nissanka at the top of the order.
The visitors, additionally, have picked middle-order batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa and seamer Nuwan Thushara, who finished as the second-highest wicket-taker in the LPL, only for the T20Is.
Squads:
India: Hardik Pandya (c), Suryakumar Yadav (vc), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, Mukesh Kumar.
Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka (c), Wanindu Hasaranga (vc), Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Kusal Mendis, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Ashen Bandara, Maheesh Theekshana, Chamika Karunaratne, Dilshan Madushanka, Kasun Rajitha, Dunith Wellalage, Pramod Madushan, Lahiru Kumara, Nuwan Thushara.
Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
Time: 7 pm IST.
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