Shikhar Dhawan, who is the newly-appointed Indian captain for the Sri Lanka tour, said he is looking forward to the limited-overs series comprising of 3 T20Is and as many ODIs where he believes there will be a good atmosphere for youngsters to go out and express themselves.
Shikhar Dhawan said he is looking forward to working with Rahul Dravid, who will travel with the team as the head coach in the absence of Ravi Shastri, who is with the Test regulars in England. The opener stressed that it’s an honour for him to lead India in Sri Lanka.
Shikhar Dhawan Feels Great Honour To Be The Skipper Of The Indian Team
Shikhar Dhawan will lead a 20-man squad comprising of many youngsters who did well in IPL 2020 and/or IPL 2021. The likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, and Ishan Kishan will join an array of youngsters, some of whom are expected to make their India debuts in the island nation.
India is leaving for Colombo on Sunday and will be on a 3-day quarantine period following which they will be allowed to train. India will play 3 ODIs from July 13 and as many T20Is from July 21.
“It’s a great honour for me to be the captain of Indian team. I am looking forward to it,” Dhawan said during a pre-departure press conference along with coach Rahul Dravid.
“At the same time, as a team, working with Rahul Dravid. I have played under his coaching once for India A, I was the captain on a tour of Bangladesh. I feel that we (the support staff and the team) sync together well.
“We are looking forward to the series, to build a lot of positive things in the team. It should be a very happy environment, where the boys can be themselves and express themselves. We have been preparing quite well in the quarantine. We are looking forward to going to Sri Lanka. After 3 days, we will start our training session,” Dhawan added.
Shikhar Dhawan has been in tremendous form during the now postponed IPL 2021, after getting dropped from the T20I side in the home England series preceding the IPL. Opening for the Delhi Capitals, the left-hander scored 380 runs in 7 matches at 54.29, striking at 134.28, and was the leading run-scorer before the tournament got suspended.
Rahul Dravid Mentions A Couple Of Selectors Are Going To Travel With The Indian Limited Overs Team To Sri Lanka
Meanwhile, head coach Rahul Dravid said he will try to speak to the Indian team management in England, especially skipper Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri to discuss India’s T20 World Cup plans and whether he would be able to implement some of those during the upcoming series in Sri Lanka.
There are a few posts up for grabs with the likes of Prithvi Shaw, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson, Kuldeep Yadav, and Yuzvendra Chahal eyeing big returns in the island nation. Vice-captain Bhuvneshwar Kumar will spearhead the pace attack with support from the likes of Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini, and Chetan Sakariya.
“I’ve had a bit of contact with the management [in England] but didn’t disturb them during the World Test Championship final.
“I will probably touch base with them over the next couple of weeks to see what they are thinking about the T20 World Cup and whether we can implement that in these three games. There are a couple of selectors who are going to be travelling with us. Once we get to Sri Lanka, we will interact with them and see what their ideas are,” Dravid said.
Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Nitish Rana, K Gowtham and Chetan Sakariya got maiden India call-ups. Yuzvendra Chahal will lead the spin department and will have support from the likes of Kuldeep Yadav, K Gowtham, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, and Varun Chakravarthy.
India’s squad: Shikhar Dhawan (Captain), Prithvi Shaw, Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suryakumar Yadav, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Rana, Ishan Kishan (Wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (Wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar, K Gowtham, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Vice-captain), Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini, Chetan Sakariya
Net Bowlers: Ishan Porel, Sandeep Warrier, Arshdeep Singh, Sai Kishore, Simarjeet Singh