Over the past couple of years, Virat Kohli has chosen to take rest only on a couple of occasions. Other than skipping two tours of Zimbabwe, he was rested for a T20I series against Sri Lanka last year.
ODIs at home, though, have always been at top of his priority list. That Kohli has been at the top his game in each of these matches is well-documented. The 28-year-old has been the anchor of India’s batting line-up in all formats. In ODIs, the team has not faced circumstance where their leading batsman was unavailable for an entire series.
In the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, India will look to dispel the notion that they are over-dependent on the right-hand batsman to lead the way.
India are expected to make light work of the opposition, having previously trounced them 5-0 in away in Sri Lanka. However, the hosts go into the series with their other senior batsmen slightly distracted with individual challenges.
Rohit Sharma, arguably India’s most feared batsman along side Kohli in the limited-overs format, will be shouldering the responsibility of leading the side in the Delhi batsman’s absence.
The 30-year-old was made vice-captain of the limited overs team, early this year, but this will be the first time that he will take charge. over the past one year, Rohit has been in impervious form with the bat in ODIs. However, the challenge of juggling the responsibility of leading the team while also anchoring the batting line-up is a task which will be new to him. How he copes under the pressure will be interesting to observe.
Other than Rohit, Ajinkya Rahane is India’s other reliable batsman who they will turn to repeatedly over the course of this series. Rahane, though, has still not cemented his position in the limited-overs team and will under pressure to perform. He is horribly out-of-form and turned out a poor performance against Sri Lanka in the recently-concluded Test series. With Kohli unavailable, Rahane might come into bat at No 3. He will want to do good on the opportunity for both personal gains as well as for the greater good of the team.
Former skipper MS Dhoni will naturally step in to guide the side on the field, but he had faced criticism when he struggled to get going in the second T20I against New Zealand which the hosts lost by 40 runs and the former skipper will look to silence his detractors.
India in form
From the polluted ‘Gas Chamber’ of National Capital, the action has now shifted to the most scenic cricket stadium in the country in the backdrop of the pristine Dhauladhar Range.
With the match starting at 11:30 am in cooler confines and bouncy conditions, the toss could prove to be a crucial factor during the opening ODI.
Having won five straight bilateral series apart from reaching Champions Trophy final, a 3-0 win will put India on top of ICC ODI rankings, overtaking South Africa.
The last time India faced Sri Lanka in the one-dayers, Kohli’s men swept aside the Island nation 5-0.
Even without their inspirational skipper, a batting line-up comprising Rohit, Rahane, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni could prove to be a handful for any opposition.
While the opening slot seems locked with Rohit and Dhawan at the top, Rahane is likely to get a chance at the number three position with Kohli given a much-needed rest.
Uncertainty over Dhawan, Kedar
However if Dhawan, who was down with viral fever on Friday, pulls out then Rahane could be seen opening the innings.
The stylish Mumbai batsman had scored three half-centuries and a hundred in the bilaterals against West Indies in June-July, before blasting four successive fifties against Australia at home.
The only ODI game that he played against Sri Lanka this year, Rahane scored just 5 before stumbling upon a rough patch in the Test series against Sri Lanka.
With the South Africa Test series round the corner, the team management would certainly want their favourite ‘Jinks’ to break the jinx.
Dinesh Karthik and Dhoni are likely to take the next two slots. India will miss Kedar Jadhav, who was ruled out after suffering a hamstring injury on Friday.
Karthik had scored a fifty in the two chances that he got in the West Indies series, while against New Zealand the wicket-keeper batsman hit scores of 37, 64 not out and 4 not out in the three games.
While Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey are also in the team, the duo might get a look-in considering the injury woes. Washington Sundar has been brought in place of Jadhav and holds an outside chance of making the final XI.
All-rounder Hardik Pandya will continue to be a vital cog in India’s wheel as he completes what has been an exception year in international cricket for him.
One among orthodox leg-break bowler Yuzvendra Chahal and chinaman Kuldeep Yadav will be in the playing XI along with Axar Patel, whose primary job is to restrict runs.
Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will spearhead the pace department and the visitors will have a tough time dealing with them in the opening as well as at death overs.
Among others, it will be interesting to see if skipper Rohit decides to give rookie Siddarth Kaul a chance as a third pacer at the HPCA Stadium, which is expected to aid swing bowling.
Sri Lanka have shown fight
Sri Lanka have shown the stomach for a fight in the Delhi Test after barely managing to save the first Test in Kolkata and losing the second at Nagpur and they would be eager to erase the ignominy of losing 0-5 at home in September.
The visitors were also humiliated 0-5 by Pakistan in their last bilateral series in October and it will take really a special effort from Thisara Perera’s men to tame India at their own backyard.
For Sri Lanka, Kusal Perera and Asela Gunaratne is returning to the team after recovering from injuries and a lot will depend on these players.
Sri Lanka will bank on young batsman Dhananjaya de Silva, who scored a fighting century in the third Test to force a draw at Delhi.
India Squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul.
Sri Lanka Squad: Thisara Perera (capt), Upul Tharanga, Danushka Gunathilaka, Lahiru Thirimanne, Angelo Mathews, Asela Gunaratne, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Chaturanga de Silva, Akila Dananjaya, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dushmantha Chameera, Sachith Pathirana, Kusal Perera.
Match starts at 11:30 am.
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