IND vs SL 2017: Five Indian Players Who Could Threat the Sri Lankan Lineup
Nov 13, 2017 at 6:32 PM
Sri Lanka’s tour of India is about to begin, and both the teams are looking forward to getting the better of each other in the reverse fixture.
The two teams last met when India toured the Island nation and completely decimated the Sri Lanka team at their home, and whitewashed the hosts in all the three formats, leading to a 9-0 victory throughout the tour.
The Sri Lankan team is currently struggling with their combinations, as they failed to regain the lost glory in cricket since the retirement of their star batsmen, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. Despite winning the two-match Test series in the UAE against Pakistan, the Lankan team will go into the Test series as underdogs.
The Indian team has called back the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja for the upcoming Test series after the duo got dropped after the last Test series India played against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka early this year. Selectors quoted the two spinners have been rested after the heavy workload, and the duo was not picked up for the limited-over series against Sri Lanka, Australia and New Zealand after that.
The Indian team has been on a fantastic run and has not lost a series at home since 2015 when South Africa last beat them. The Indian team is currently ranked number one in the Test format and are tied at the top spot with South Africa in the ODI series.
The Indian team has had some very impactful players in the past two years who have contributed to the success of the Indian team. Let’s have a look five Indian players who can make an impact in the upcoming series and be a threat to the Sri Lankan team.
- Shikhar Dhawan
Shikhar Dhawan has been India’s mainstay at the top and has been solid while opening the batting. Dhawan made his return to the Indian Test side courtesy an injury to Murali Vijay against Sri Lanka and scored 358 runs in three matches and also got adjudged the player of the series.
- Virat Kohli
Ever since he made it to the Indian team, Virat Kohli has been one of the most sorts after batsmen in the Indian lineup, and since becoming the captain of the Indian team, his leadership qualities in the Test format have been up to the mark. Kohli has been a prolific run-scorer for the Indian team in the past two to three years.
The 28-year-old scored double hundreds in four consecutive series in the previous home season against West Indies, New Zealand, England and Bangladesh. Also, he scored a hundred against Sri Lanka in the Test series early this year.
- Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane has been out of the Indian ODI team despite great performances in the Test format and the domestic circuit.
However, his contribution in Tests has been exceptional as he had played some crucial innings for the team in the middle-order in the past. He also led the Indian team to victory in the fourth Test against Australia in Dharamshala which led to a series win early this year.
- Ravindra Jadeja
Ravindra Jadeja is the number two Test bowler in the ICC rankings after England’s James Anderson. Jadeja has been out of the Indian ODI team since India’s tour of Sri Lanka but has been a part of the Saurashtra Ranji team in the opening three matches of the current season.
He has been in good form with both the bat and ball. Jadeja scored a double century in the first match of the Ranji season and had picked up ten wickets in three matches so far.
- Kuldeep Yadav
Kuldeep Yadav has played two Tests for India and has picked up nine wickets making his debut against Australia in Dharamshala where he picked up four wickets in the first innings. Yadav seems to have cemented his place in the Indian limited-overs set up and will now be looking forward to playing well in the whites and make a name for himself in the Test side.