All eyes will be on Jasprit Bumrah as India take on Sri Lanka in the first of three T20 Internationals in Guwahati on Sunday.
Out for four months with a back stress fracture, Bumrah will look to test his fitness after an intense rehabilitation period. The 26-year-old was exempted from playing first class cricket, keeping his workload in mind, and is expected to ease his way back into international cricket.
While Bumrah’s comeback will surely grab attention, the series is also important for Shikhar Dhawan who making a comeback into the team post knee injury. He will also look to make an impact in the absence of rested vice-captain Rohit Sharma, with KL Rahul in red-hot form at the other end.
On his return to competitive cricket, the Delhi left-hander smashed 140 against Hyderabad in a Ranji Trophy match. In 2019, Dhawan scored 272 runs in 12 innings in T20I cricket.
If 2019 was all about focusing on the 50-over format, the current year will witness the Indian team playing close to 15 games before their T20 World Cup campaign starts against South Africa in Perth in October.
There are slots to be locked and till the Indian Premier League ends, a clearer picture is unlikely to emerge. But that won’t stop head coach Ravi Shastri and skipper Virat Kohli to set the ball rolling in the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka.
It all starts in Guwahati at the Barsapara Stadium on Sunday as the biggest city in Assam is slowly getting back to normalcy after protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
In the absence of frontline speedsters Mohammed Shami (rested), Deepak Chahar (stress fracture) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (sports hernia), the Indian team will keep an eye on how the likes of Navdeep Saini and Shardul Thakur react to pressure situations in death overs.
Washington Sundar is still a work in progress and he would like to put up performances that can ensure that only one among Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal can be picked in the playing XI going ahead.
Shivam Dube has impressed at times with his big hitting but it remains to be seen whether his seam-up stuff can withstand aggression on docile tracks.
Rishabh Pant will be keen to build on the sparks of form he showed against West Indies. With Sanju Samson having already warmed the benches for six straight T20I games, Pant will need to keep putting in the performances to hold onto his role as ‘keeper-batsman.
In their last T20I series, Sri Lanka suffered a 0-3 rout in Australia as their batsmen struggled. They relied heavily on Kusal Perera, who was their highest run-getter, and will hope the hard-hitting left-hander fires once again versus India. Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Oshada Fernando and Danushka Gunathilaka, who were their batting mainstays in their 3-0 win in Pakistan in October, will be expected to take responsibility as well.
Sri Lanka will also look forward to the return of former captain Angelo Mathews, who last played a T20I against South Africa in August 2018.
Squads
India: Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shivam Dube, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini and Washington Sundar.
Sri Lanka: Lasith Malinga (captain), Danushka Gunathilaka, Avishka Fernando, Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Kusal Perera, Niroshan Dickwella, Dhananjaya de Silva, Isuru Udana, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Oshada Fernando, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lahiru Kumara, Kusal Mendis, Lakshan Sandakan and Kasun Rajitha.
Match starts: 7pm IST.
(With inputs from PTI)
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