With India set to miss their regular skipper Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for the tour of Sri Lanka, the question arises – who would lead the side then?
Actually, India are expected to field a squad dominated by white-ball specialists as the Test regulars, including captain Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, will be in England in July, preparing for the 5-Test series in August and September.
Meanwhile, former India cricketer-turned-commentator Deep Dasgupta named two cricketers who could lead the side in the absence of the two stalwarts. Dasgupta, while speaking on Sports Today, stated that Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are good captaincy options.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) last week announced a 20-men India squad for the World Test Championship final, starting June 18, and the 5-Test series against England which will be played from August.
India have more than a month’s gap between the two battles but the Test regulars are not going to return from England due to travel restrictions in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Obviously, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul are not available. The senior-most player available in that side is Shikhar, so Shikhar (captaincy option) I guess,” Dasgupta said.
“One of the questions was ‘who do I see captaining the side?’, I mentioned Shikhar, let’s not forget, if Bhuvneshwar is fit and ready to play, he is a good captain candidate as well for that series.”
BCCI has not named the captain for the white-ball series and hence it would be interesting to see if Dhawan or Bhuvi is appointed as skipper for the tour.
Meanwhile, the schedule and venue for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka has been finalised. According to information available, the series will commence with the ODIs on July 13, 16, 19 followed by T20 segment on July 22, 24, 27.
India Tour of Sri Lanka:
1st ODI: 13th July.
2nd ODI: 16th July.
3rd ODI: 19th July.
1st T20I: 22nd July.
2nd T20I: 24th July.
3rd T20I: 27th July.
It has been announced by SLC (Sri Lanka Cricket) that all the six matches will be played in Colombo.