India vs Sri Lanka Squad Announcement Highlights: Suryakumar Yadav To Lead In T20Is, This Youngster Named Vice-Captain

With Suryakumar Yadav's appointment as Indian T20I captain, it can be assumed that Gautam Gambhir and Co. are looking at the Mumbai Indians batter as a long-term prospect for captaincy. Interestingly, Hardik Pandya has not been  named as the vice-captain also. Shubman Gill has been named the new vice-captain. Read in detail

The team management has shown faith in Riyan Parag, who scored only 24 runs across two innings during the Zimbabwe series. Parag has been named in both ODI and T20I squads. Shreyas Iyer, who doesn't have a BCCI central contract, has made his way back into the ODI team. Harshit Rana's entry into the ODI squad is also a surprise inclusion.

Surprisingly, Kuldeep Yadav, the 2024 T20 World Cup winner, has been dropped for Sri Lanka T20Is while he has been included for the three-match ODI series. Abhishek Sharma, the centurion from the Zimbabwe series, fails to find a spot in any of the squads. And so is the case with Ruturaj Gaikwad, who performed really well in the recently-concluded Zimbabwe T20I series.

It is interesting to note that Suryakumar Yadav has been named the captain for the T20I format against Sri Lanka despite the presence of Hardik Pandya in the team. Meanwhile, Shubman Gill has been appointed as SKY's deputy. Gill is also the vice-captain in the ODI series against Sri Lanka.

Shryeas Iyer is set to find himself in BCCI central contract list. He is expected to be included in India's ODI team, stated an Indian Express report. It is worth noting that Iyer was excluded from BCCI's central contract list that was announced earlier this year.

Riyan Parag had a below-par debut for India. He started with a two-run knock in a T20I match vs Zimbabwe before contributing with a knock of 22 in his next chance. Riyan thus scored 24 runs across two T20I innings. It will be interesting to see if the selection panel keeps showing trust in him or not.

The selection meeting of the BCCI is set to start at 5:30 PM IST, informed journalist Amol Karhadkar on social media.

Both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are reportedly going to feature for India in the ODI series against Sri Lanka. While the team management will be looking to manage their workload, the Indian cricket team plays a very small number of matches before the Champions Trophy 2025 and that can be a massive reason why head coach Gautam Gambhir wants his top players to play the ODI matches.

According to a report by The Indian Express, both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are expected to play the ODI series against Sri Lanka. However, Jasprit Bumrah will be rested. The T20I captaincy race continues between Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav but SKY has an advantage as head coach Gautam Gambhir told BCCI that he would like to work with a captain who does not have any workload management concerns.

Few days ago, a video of Shreyas Iyer working out went viral. The cricketer has not featured for the Indian cricket team for quite some following his removal from the BCCI central contracts list. However, there is a big possibility that he can finally make his return to the ODI squad. Gambhir has worked closely with him as Shreyas was the KKR captain in IPL 2024.

Rinku Singh missed out on the T20 World Cup 2024 selection as he was included in the reserves despite producing a brilliant display in the previous T20I encounters. However, he is expected to find a place in the T20I squad after playing against Zimbabwe. However, it remains to be seen if he will be included in the ODI squad as well.

Newly-appointed India head coach Gautam Gambhir has the ability to derive the best out of players when the chips are down, and his affinity to take up challenges head on can make winning a habit for the national team, feels his childhood coach Sanjay Bharadwaj. "He could pick players like Kuldeep Yadav and Navdeep Saini (in the India team setup). They are his product. He also followed his instincts on West Indian all-rounder Sunil Narine (during IPL 2024). His observation and cricketing acumen were always outstanding," he said.

A recent report has claimed that Gautam Gambhir's multiple choices for the India support staff was rejected by BCCI. While the BCCI has reportedly said that they want an all-Indian support staff, Gambhir suggested the names of Albie Morkel and Ryan Ten Doeschate. However, nothing official has been confirmed by any party.

Hardik Pandya holds a slight edge over Suryakumar Yadav in the captaincy race when it comes to their experiences of leading a side. Hardik has led India on more occasions than SKY and he has also captained franchises for three years in the IPL. Hardik even led Gujarat Titans to the IPL title on their debut season.

The meeting between Gautam Gambhir, selectors and BCCI secretary Jay Shah for choosing the squads is expected to take place today. Gambhir had a primary chat on Tuesday but the main meeting was postponed by a day from Wednesday. The suspense continues over who will make the cut and more importantly, who will be the two captains in the T20I and ODI series.

All eyes will be on BCCI secretary Jay Shah during the four-day ICC Annual Conference in Colombo, starting on Friday, where there might be serious discussions about when he will take over from New Zealand's Greg Barclay as the chairman of the global body. The ICC conference that starts with the board meeting on Friday is expected to be dominated by losses to the tune of more than USD 20 million incurred by the global body for hosting T20 World Cup games in the United States of America. While the nine-point agenda of the AGM (a copy of which is with the PTI) doesn't include the event's financial details, but it will be discussed by the board as a "post-event report", which is a standard operating procedure.

Gautam Gambhir reportedly asked for freedom while choosing squads for different formats and the squad announcement for Sri Lanka tour can be a big indication of what we can expect in the future. Gambhir has long advocated players to be included on their domestic form when it comes to ODIs but IPL will remain a major factor while deciding on the T20I squad.

Another intriguing part of the squad announcement is the possible reveal of Gautam Gambhir's support staff. The support staff of previous head coach Rahul Dravid ended their tenure and Gambhir will have a brand new team with him. While names like Abhishek Nayar and Vinay Kumar are doing the rounds, nothing official has been announced as of now.

BCCI secretary Jay Shah has made it clear that even star cricketers must make themselves available for domestic engagements when they are free from national duty. But exceptions will be made for the likes of Rohit, Virat Kohli and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah. The BCCI would, however, want all the other Test specialists to play at least one if not a couple of Duleep Trophy games in August as a precursor to the Tests against Bangladesh and New Zealand. "This time there is no zonal selection committee for Duleep Trophy. Only national selection committee will pick Duleep teams. "All Test team contenders will be picked. For Rohit, Virat and Bumrah, it will be their choice if they want to play or not," a source told PTI.

With Rohit Sharma reportedly playing the ODIs against Sri Lanka and leading the side, questions remain over KL Rahul. Rahul was not included in the T20 World Cup 2024 squad and although reports claimed that he can lead the side in the ODIs, Rohit's return can be bad news for him.

The T20I captaincy for the series against Sri Lanka will quite important in context of the future as well. The captaincy pick is going to be a hint at the way forward keeping T20 World Cup 2026 in mind and with Gambhir also beginning his journey as head coach, a solid partnership will be something that India will be hoping for.

The Hindustan Times report also claimed that chief selector Ajit Agarkar is of the opinion that Suryakumar Yadav should become the new India T20I captain. While Gambhir was not clear with his pick, Agarkar reportedly said on the call between the new head coach and BCCI that SKY is the choice.

India arrives in the island as scheduled on July 22, but will play their first T20 on July 27, a day later than originally planned, Sri Lanka Cricket said. Under the revised plan, the second T20 match will be on July 28 and the final in the three-match T20 series on July 30. All three T20 matches will be at Pallekele. The ODIs matches will start on August 2 with the second on August 4 and the final three days later.

There has been a lot of chatter surrounding the appointment of Indian cricket team's next T20I skipper after Rohit Sharma retired from the format following the T20 World Cup 2024 triumph. While the expectation was that vice-captain Hardik Pandya will succeed Rohit, Suryakumar Yadav has emerged as a strong contender in the past couple of days. Media reports claimed that Hardik's fitness issues have become a hindrance in the eyes of the team management and Suryakumar can be picked as the one to lead the side in the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka.

A report claims that Gautam Gambhir did not take SKY's name for captaincy in the meeting with BCCI but insisted that he would like to work with a captain who does not have workload management issues. “Although Gambhir did not directly pitch for Surya in the call, he made it amply clear that he would want to work with a captain whose workload does not become a stumbling block. Agarkar was clear with his views,” a BCCI official told Hindustan Times.

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and newly appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir held an hour long virtual introductory meeting to lay down the vision Gambhir has for Team India, according to a report. The squad for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka was the topic of discussion in the meeting which included members of Ajit Agarkar's selection committee, Gambhir, and BCCI secretary Jay Shah, according to a Cricbuzz report.

While the debate continues over whether Hardik Pandya or Suryakumar Yadav will become the next India T20I captain, 'We want captain Hardik' started trending on X (formerly Twitter). Hardik has more experience leading the side in comparison to SKY and many fans pointed out that he should be the natural choice after Rohit Sharma.

While Rohit is reportedly playing in the ODI series, Virat and Bumrah will not return for the tour of Sri Lanka. The Hindustan Times report said that both players asked for an extended leave and it was granted by the team management.

A major development as Hindustan Times has reported that Rohit Sharma will be playing and leading the team in the ODI series against Sri Lanka. However, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah are expected to enjoyed an extended break and directly play for the team in the series against Bangladesh.

With Rohit Sharma retiring from T20Is following the T20 World Cup 2024 triumph, the captaincy is up for grabs and Hardik Pandya seemed to be the prime successor. However, media reports claim that Suryakumar Yadav can pip him to the position due to the concerns over Hardik's fitness.

Hello and welcome to the live coverage of India's squad announcement for the upcoming T20I and ODI series against Sri Lanka. A big series as it will be the first assignment for new head coach Gautam Gambhir.