- Wednesday, March 05, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
Ace India all-rounder Hardik Pandya will captain the national side in the upcoming three-match T20 series against Sri Lanka at home starting January 3. The 29-year-old led the Men in Blue in the T20s against New Zealand a few months ago and will be in the leadership role once again in the absence of regular captain Rohit Sharma who has been recovering from a thumb injury he sustained during the recently concluded tour of Bangladesh.
He is expected to make a comeback to the national side in the one-day international (ODI) series following the T20s.
Virat Kohli and KL Rahul are the other senior players who will not be part of the India squad. While the former has reportedly been rested, the latter is set to marry Athiya Shetty, the daughter of Indian actor Suniel Shetty, in January.
Wicket-keeper-batter Rishabh Pant has also been omitted from the series. The diminutive cricketer was Pandya’s deputy in the T20 series against the Kiwis. He did not play in the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh and featured in the two Tests in which he scored decent runs, including a 93.
Ruturaj Gaikwad returned to the T20I squad and will be a strong contender to open the innings.
Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sanju Samson, and Harshal Patel also found berths in the squad.
The selectors have also handed maiden T20I call-ups for pacers Shivam Mavi and Mukesh Kumar. Mukesh was in the ODI squad for the home series against South Africa but didn’t get a chance.
They will share the pace-bowling responsibility with Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been dropped from the T20 side which made Harshal Patel, who made his India debut in 2021, the most experienced fast bowler in the squad.
The three T20s will be played in Mumbai (3), Pune (5) and Rajkot (7). Thereafter, the two teams will square off in three ODIs in Guwahati (10), Kolkata (12) and Thiruvananthapuram (15).
Pandya has led India in five T20s so far in which the team has won four times while one game was tied.
India T20 squad for Sri Lanka series: Hardik Pandya (captain), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), 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
