Team India is going to tour Sri Lanka for ODI and T20I series and it will see Rahul Dravid making his comeback to the Indian dressing room after a long break of 7 years. The former India captain has been has been appointed as team’s head coach for the upcoming tour.
Not just a new head coach, India also have a new captain Shikhar Dhawan, who is going to lead team India for the first time. The senior batsman has been Team India’s vice-captain twice but has never captained the side.
A day before departing to Sri Lanka, Dravid and Dhawan addressed the media and with Dravid as the coach, it was being expected that many youngsters will get a chance to play international cricket for India during the tour.
However, Dravid made it clear that it won’t be possible for everyone in the Indian squad to play on such a short tour but the youngsters will look to make the most of whatever chances they get in the 6 white-ball games in Colombo.
“…I think it”s probably going to be unrealistic to expect us in a short tour like this with three games, or three one-dayers to give everyone an opportunity…and the selectors will be there as well,” Dravid declared in the pre-departure press conference.
Among the players who are fighting for a place in the T20 squad for this year’s World Cup are the capped trio of Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav and Sanju Samson. The Sri Lanka ODI series is set to get underway from July 13, followed by T20s from July 21.
The World Cup, originally scheduled in India, is set to be held in the UAE in October because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There are a lot of people in this squad who are pushing for places or looking to cement their places in the World Cup coming up, but I think the key goal of everyone in the squad and in the team…is to try and win the series,” the former India captain said.
“The primary objective is to try and win the series and hopefully people get the opportunity to put in some really good performances. These are the only three games before the World Cup.
“I am sure that you know the selectors and management would have a pretty fair idea by now as to what is the kind of squad that they are looking for.”