The upcoming tour of Sri Lanka is going to be vital for opening batsmen KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma. The duo, who were injured last season, will look to get as much batting time as possible in the two-day warm-up game against President’s XI beginning on Friday. India take on Sri Lanka in a three-Test series starting of July 26.
Sharma, who last played a Test match against New Zealand in October, did not feature in the Test series against England, Bangladesh and Australia during the home season due to a thigh injury.
The Mumbai batsman underwent a surgery and was out of action for a long period of time. He made a winning return in the Indian Premier League (IPL) where he led Mumbai Indians to their third title. He also featured in the Champions Trophy, where he amassed more than 300 runs.
However, he was rested for the West Indies tour in order to keep him fresh for the upcoming season.
For Rahul, who had a run of six fifties in seven innings in the Australia series, getting back to form will be his top priority after injuring his shoulder. The injury, which required surgery, had ruled him out of the Indian Premier League, Champions Trophy and the West Indies series.
The practice game at the BRC Grounds will also be Ravi Shastri’s first assignment as head coach.
Since it is a two-day game, a team can test all the players of its squad and India will look to give each player a chance.
The match will also provide skipper Virat Kohli a chance to check his bowling unit, which features the pace duo of Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami who are making a comeback.
All-rounder Hardik Pandya, who was left out for the final two Tests against Australia due to a shoulder injury, is also back in the squad while pacer Umesh Yadav looks a certainty after a splendid domestic season.
India have fielded a three-man spin attack with chinaman Kuldeep Yadav alongside Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravinda Jadeja.
