India vs Sri Lanka: Rohit Sharma named captain for ODI series, Hardik Pandya to lead in T20Is

Rohit Sharma is set to return to international cricket after his injury break with the Board of Control for Cricket in India announcing on Tuesday that the 35-year-old will lead the team in the upcoming men’s One-Day International series at home against Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya will lead the Indian team in the preceding T20I series against Sri Lanka. He has also been evidently promoted to vice captain in ODIs, with KL Rahul in the squad but not named as Rohit’s deputy.

The teams will first play three T20Is followed by as many ODIs, starting from January 3 and then January 10 respectively.

Suryakumar Yadav, who finished 2022 as the top-ranked batter in the shortest format, was named the vice-captain of the Indian team for the T20I series against Sri Lanka.

Several senior players like Rohit, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul were not named in the T20I squad, with right-arm pacers Shivam Mavi and Mukesh Kumar, who fetched significant bids in the IPL auction recently, being included.

Meanwhile, in the ODI squad, veteran batter Shikhar Dhawan was not included.

Rishabh Pant, too, was not a part of either of the squads, with the BCCI offering no explanation in its release for any of their decisions. It is not clear who is rested or who is dropped or who is injured at this point of time.

Other notables absentees from both squads are Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin.

There is still no official update on a comeback for Jasprit Bumrah either.

India’s squad for Sri Lanka T20Is: Hardik Pandya (Captain), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (VC), Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, Mukesh Kumar.

India’s squad for Sri Lanka ODIs: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya (VC), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh.

While there are no official indications on what the path forward in T20Is for Indian men is, a basic comparison with the World Cup squad recently shows plenty of changes. Rohit, Virat and Rahul apart, there is also no Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Ashwin and Dinesh Karthik are also not present.