Shikhar Dhawan to lead Team India in Sri Lanka; Sakariya, Padikkal receive maiden call-up
The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced the squad for the upcoming limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka in July. India are scheduled to play three ODIs and as many T20Is in the island nation between July 13-25.
Shikhar Dhawan has been named the captain of the side, while experienced pacer Bhuvneswhar Kumar will be the vice-captain on the tour.
India's first-team captain Virat Kohli, as well as vice-captain Rohit Sharma, will be two of the many first-choice players who will not be a part of the SL tour, as they will remain in England to prepare for the five-Test series.
Here is the Indian squad:
Shikhar Dhawan (Captain), Prithvi Shaw, Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suryakumar Yadav, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Rana, Ishan Kishan (Wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (Wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar, K Gowtham, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Vice-captain), Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini, Chetan Sakariya
Net Bowlers: Ishan Porel, Sandeep Warrier, Arshdeep Singh, Sai Kishore, Simarjeet Singh
All the matches of the tour will be played at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Batsmen Nitish Rana, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devdutt Padikkal, and left-arm pacer Chetan Sakariya have received their maiden call-ups for the tour, following impressive performances in India's domestic limited-overs tournaments earlier this year and the 2021 Indian Premier League.
Prithvi Shaw, Sanju Samson and Manish Pandey, meanwhile, make a return to the Indian team.
Rahul Dravid is expected to coach the Indian squad for the tour according to multiple reports. However, the BCCI is yet to confirm his appointment.
