India vs SL 2021: Predicted Squad for Team India – Rahul Dravid as Coach

Shikhar Dhawan to lead as we look at the predicted squad for Team India for India vs Sri Lanka series. 

BCCI’s president, Sourav Ganguly in a press conference recently revealed that Team India are going to tour for a limited-overs tour to Sri Lanka later in July. This would be an interesting decision as Team India’s longest format squad, which also has a few limited-overs players may not be able to participate. 

As we know, Team India’s longest format squad, led by Virat Kohli would be touring to England for a period of 4.5 months starting June, 2021. They would be playing the World Test Championship final in June and the Test series vs England in August and September. So, even though the team would be free in July, they won’t travel to Sri Lanka.

So, we can expect a completely new team with a new leader touring to Sri Lanka for the expected 3 match ODI and T20I series. With the regular players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, etc. may not be able to play the SL series, who will be the ideal members to replace them? 

Given the COVID-19 pandemic situation and the squad that toured England, we can as well expect a similar 20-member squad for the Sri Lanka ODI and T20I series. This will be an interesting proposition as we can expect at least 4-5 uncapped members in the squad. So, let’s look at the squad for Team India for India vs Sri Lanka series. 

Openers:

Shikhar Dhawan // Prithvi Shaw // Devdutt Padikkal

Shikhar Dhawan has been a regular member of Team India’s ODI and T20I squad, hence there are no surprises on who is the first-choice opener. However, with Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul not being there, we should see two new members in the squad. 

Looking at the potential openers, Prithvi Shaw should definitely be the second opener of the squad. He has done extremely well in VHT 2021 and IPL 2021, and deserves this opportunity. Alongside him, we should see Devdutt Padikkal as the third opener of the squad. Given Padikkal’s stunning form and no alternative in place, he should get a call. 

Middle-order:

Suryakymar Yadav // Ishan Kishan // Manish Pandey // Sanju Samson // Hardik Pandya// Dinesh Karthik 

The middle-order should mostly see the regular members, who had also represented India previously. However, one big name, who will be missed is Shreyas Iyer. As we know, Iyer should take another 2-3 months to fully recover from the injury. Hence, he is most-likely to miss the tour. Moreover, with Iyer not being there, India would also be in search of a captain. 

Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan did really well in their debut series vs England. Hence, they should definitely get selected. Manish Pandey and Sanju Samson were a part of India’s squad in New Zealand and Australia, but got dropped owing to form. However, given the experience, we should see both get selected. 

Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik should be the finishers of the squad in the absence of Ravindra Jadeja and Rishabh Pant. While Hardik Pandya would play as a pure batsman, Dinesh Karthik’s wicket-keeping skills and good finishing skills should see him getting selected. 

All-rounders:

Shivam Dube // Krunal Pandya // Rahul Tewatia

The All-rounders category seems the most fragile category among all categories. Not that Krunal Pandya, Shivam Dube, or Rahul Tewatia are not good options, but given the experience and their form off-late, they seem to be the only decent options available for us. 

However, it would be difficult for Shivam Dube or Rahul Tewatia to sneak in the playing 11. Krunal Pandya should play as the leading all-rounder of the squad given Hardik Pandya is currently not fit to bowl, and is considered as a pure batsman. 

Spinners:

Yuzvendra Chahal // Kuldeep Yadav // Rahul Chahar

The trio of Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, and Rahul Chahar featured in the limited-overs squad against England. Hence, all three most-likely to travel to Sri Lanka. Of the three, Chahal should be preferred for ODIs as well as T20Is. Whereas Kuldeep should be preferred for ODIs and Rahul Chahar should be preferred for T20Is. 

Pacers:

Bhuvneshwar Kumar // T Natarajan // Deepak Chahar // Navdeep Saini // Chetan Sakariya

Without Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, and Shardul Thakur, Team India would be without 4 of their key pacers for the Sri Lanka series. However, two regular members, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Deepak Chahar should be the leading pacers for the Sri Lanka series. 

Barring these two, Team India would be hoping for T Natarajan to get fit for the series. If Natarajan doesn’t get for in time, Team India should see Kartik Tyagi replacing him. Meanwhile, Navdeep Saini may be slightly off colour since IPL 2020, but given the experience, he should play as the fourth pacer of the squad. 

However, of the expected 5 pacers, Chetan Sakariya is the pacer, who should get a surprise call. The guy impressed everyone with his bowling in the powerplay and death Overs in IPL 2021. Moreover, given the lack of good left-arm pacers, Chetan Sakariya can be a really good bet. 

So, that completes the predicted squad for Team India for the Sri Lanka tour. On top of this, it is expected that Rahul Dravid and his NCA supporting staff would also be travelling to Sri Lanka along with the team. As understood, Rahul Dravid would be the Head Coach for the Sri Lanka series. This should certainly please a lot of Cricketing fans.

India vs Sri Lanka Limited-overs Series – Predicted Squad for Team India: 

Batsmen: Devdutt Padikkal, Dinesh Karthik, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Manish Pandey, Prithvi Shaw, Sanju Samson, Shikhar Dhawan & Suryakymar Yadav   

All-rounders: Krunal Pandya, Rahul Tewatia & Shivam Dube 

Bowlers: Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Chetan Sakariya, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Rahul Chahar, T Natarajan & Yuzvendra Chahal

Coach: Rahul Dravid // Captain: Shikhar Dhawan // Vice-captain: Hardik Pandya

Thanks for reading! Are you happy with the predicted squad for Team India for India vs Sri Lanka series? Please email your comments to business@cricalytics.com

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