India’s tour of Zimbabwe (five-match T20I series) came to a close very recently, with the visitors coming out on top much to the hosts’ annoyance under the captaincy of Shubman Gill. Despite losing the first T20I, India won the next four games on the trot to win the series by 4-1.
Now, the focus shifts towards India’s tour of Sri Lanka (3 T20Is and 3 ODIs), with the tour commencing on July 27. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squads for the respective formats. Suryakumar Yadav has been named the captain for the T20I series whereas Rohit Sharma who retired from T20Is recently will lead the team in ODIs.
Shubman Gill will serve as the vice-captain in both formats. Meanwhile, in a move that has left several cricket enthusiasts puzzled, the Indian selection committee has excluded three standout performers from the recently-concluded Zimbabwe series.
1. Abhishek Sharma
The exclusion of Abhishek Sharma for Sri Lanka T20Is is particularly surprising in the wake of his batting exploits for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2024. Fans and analysts alike expected the young lad to feature for the Sri Lanka series. Unfortunately, it was a bitter pillow to swallow for the 23-year-old.
It is worth noting that he played a match-winning knock against Zimbabwe in the second T20I of the just-concluded T20I series. The aggressive left-hander displayed maturity beyond his years, scoring a century in Harare. He scored 100 off just 47 balls, laced with 7 fours and 8 sixes. Rightly so, he was adjudged the Player of the Match. Overall, he scored 124 runs in five games at a strike rate of 174.65.
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