Team India's first assignment of the new year 2023, and the road to ODI World Cup 2023 begins at home when they welcome neighbours Sri Lanka to the subcontinent next month. After failing to impress in the ICC events in 2022, BCCI could be looking to shake things up, with Hardik Pandya rumoured to take over as T20 captain after Rohit Sharma.
Rishabh Pant is likely to be rested for the Sri Lanka T20I series with Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan likely to be included in the former's place.
With skipper Rohit facing time out through the thumb injury that he sustained in the ODI series against Bangladesh, there could be plenty of changes in the squad for Sri Lanka's tour of India. The T20I series, which will consist of three matches, begins on January 3, which could come too soon for Rohit, and thus Hardik has been mooted to lead the Men in Blue.
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Furthermore, as per a report in InsideSport, Pant is likely to be rested, with Samson and Kishan set to be included as the two wicketkeeping batsmen in the roster for the T20Is. Pant's track record in recent T20I matches has not been impressive, thus the BCCI could be looking for alternatives in the shortest format.
"Rishabh has done well in Tests and he is not out of form. But yes he has not got many runs in T20s. He will be back in the ODI series. He is crucial for us in the Australia series. In T20s, we have quite a few options including Ishan and Sanju who are getting runs in domestic," a BCCI official told InsideSport.
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After the acrimonious exit from the T20 World Cup earlier in 2022, there could be a few changes in line in T20Is, with BCCI also looking for a specialist selector for the shortest format.
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Apart from the aforementioned names, the likes of Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah could also make return to the Sri Lanka T20I squad, with the pair facing a long time out through injuries. They both missed the World Cup, Jadeja had surgery on his knee after sustaining an injury during the Asia Cup, while Bumrah's back issue relapsed after the Asia Cup.
