IND vs SL: Suryakumar Yadav's first assignment as India's full-time T20 captain begins as the Indian cricket team takes on Sri Lanka in a three-match series, starting from July 27 onwards. The Men in Blue have been asked to bat first by the Lankan Lions as the two teams lock horns in the opening T20I at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele.
The Indian skipper confirmed the team's combination for the opener. He confirmed that the Player of the Series from the T20I series against Zimbabwe Washington Sundar misses out on being part of the first contest.
"We are going to bowl first. It looks like a pretty good pitch and we want to see how it goes. We are going with 6-5 (batters-bowlers) combination. I want to give every player a specific roles and that's why we are going with 5 bowlers. You can expect more wins and more consistency," Charith Asalanka, Sri Lanka's captain for the series, said at the toss.
"It (the pitch) looks good and it is fine to bat first. The brand of cricket remains the same. The relationship me and him (Gambhir) have had for so many years is special. Dube, Samson, Khaleel and Washington are the four players to miss out. That (World Cup) is history, we start from scratch and it is a new challenge," Suryakumar said at the toss.
India and Sri Lanka's Playing XIs:
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis(w), Kusal Perera, Kamindu Mendis, Charith Asalanka(c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Dasun Shanaka, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka
India (Playing XI): Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Riyan Parag, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj
