India vs Sri Lanka is a rivalry in cricket that has become one of the fiercest of all time since the
turn of the century. They have met twice in the two ICC tournament finals (2011 and 2014), with
both teams winning once over the other.
A new side of this rivalry will be seen because according to details given by BCCI President
Sourav Ganguly, India will play Sri Lanka in three ODIs and three T20s.
As per reports, it has been made sure that no players that have made the team for England as
well as the World Test championship final will be part of this tour. With the likes of Virat Kohli
and Rohit Sharma not being on this tour, it is yet to be seen who BCCI chooses as stand-in
captain.
That being said, the BCCI is spoilt for choice. While they have youngsters Shreyas Iyer and
Sanju Samson, who have been captains for their respective IPL teams, they can also choose
experienced players like Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Hardik Pandya.
When the squad for the England series came out, it was to everyone’s surprise that Hardik
Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who had excellent tours last time in 2018, were left out.
According to a BCCI source, Hardik Pandya’s change in bowling action after undergoing back
surgery has affected his shoulder, which will be looked into by officials. Moreover, they feel that
all three, including Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar, need to be fit for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
This tour can prove vital for India in deciding their best squad for the T20 World Cup in October.
This also gives a chance for youngsters like Rahul Chahar, Suryakumar Yadav, and Ishan
Kishan to prove their rise in Indian cricket.
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The proposed (yet not confirmed) schedule is as follows:
July 13 – 1st ODI
July 16 – 2nd ODI
July 19 – 3rd ODI
July 22- 1st T20
July 24 – 2nd T20
July 27 – 3rd T20