India will be touring Sri Lanka for 3 ODIs and as many T20Is. The team has already been announced. This will mark the beginning of the new head coach Gautam Gambhir’s tenure with the national side. He returns to the side after 11 years of his retirement. He will have big shoes to fill as India has been successful under Rahul Dravid over the past few years.
There have been changes in the captaincy role in the shortest format of the game with Suryakumar Yadav named as the captain. But despite the rumours of KL Rahul leading the side in the ODI format. Men in Blue will have their regular captain Rohit Sharma on the tour. The team does not have many ODIs scheduled after this before February. On the request of Gambhir Rohit and Virat Kohli have made themselves available for the tour.
However, this is not the main problem in the team. Rishabh Pant has made a comeback to the team. The Southpaw played amazing cricket in the T20 World Cup 2024. But KL Rahul is also fit and has been delivering for India in the 50-over format. Both keepers have been fit for the side, with the former also being named in the T20I series.
Pant will edge out Rahul as he’s a left-hander
Now the question comes who will be the first choice in the ODI series? Will Pant challenge the role of Rahul? Rahul has been the best middle-order batter for India in the ODI format. The Karnataka-born cricketer’s best performances have come in the middle overs for the side. He can build the innings and slog towards the end of the innings as well. The knock against Australia in the ODI World Cup 2023 group stage has shown the world his capability to play under pressure.
Pant has not delivered for the national team in the 50-over format. He needs to have more patience and look to play according to the conditions and situations of the game. Not only come and slog and hit some sixes. In the ODI format, the middle overs for the batting team are very crucial as the run flow should continue. It will be interesting to see if Gambhir plays a left-hander in the middle over Rahul.
