Guwahati, a city in the Kamrup Metropolitan area, will host the first game of the three-match ODI series between the two nations. The Sri Lankan team and the Men in Blue have arrived at the location and will start practising at noon today.
The fans will witness the “most focused” format of the year as Rohit and company have begun the crucial business, even though the much younger team, led by Hardik Pandya, has won the T20I series. The ICC World Cup will be played at home in 2023, so the team’s home games in this 50-over format will be especially important and analytical. This is team India’s first ODI series for the year.
Aakash Chopra, a former India opener, agrees that choosing the starting lineup won’t be simple for captain Rohit and head coach Rahul Dravid. In his most recent YouTube video, Chopra attempted to choose his lineup and produced some intriguing results.
“Ishan Kishan has recently slammed a double hundred so you cannot bench him. You cannot drop him and if he opens with Rohit, then there will be no place for Shubman Gill and we have to accept this fact,” said Chopra while picking up the top-order.
“Kohli will play at No. 3, it has been his forte. But for No. 4, the toss-up will be between Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul. The latter was the vice-captain in the Bangladesh series and has scored decently. Though he struggled in Tests, his ODI numbers are good. And also, a player who has been your captain and vice-captain in the previous series cannot be dropped so easily. And at the same time, Iyer has been absolutely outstanding in 2022 and his spot shouldn’t be altered. He is gold in the ODIs,” Chopra further said.
“Since Hardik Pandya is also available and his position at No. 6 is a no-brainer. Someone has to bowl from your top 6 and he is also the newly-appointed vice-captain. So, he is indispensable, which means there is no place left for Suryakumar Yadav,” he added.
Further discussing all-rounders, Chopra chose Axar Patel and Washington Sundar, citing their batting prowess. To round out his XI, he chose Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, and Mohammed Siraj as his three pacers.
Also Read – IND vs SL: With Rohit, Virat, and KL back in squad what will be team India’s playing XI for the 1st ODI?