India will have Hardik Pandya as their captain in the T20 International series against Sri Lanka that is scheduled to start from 27th July. However, he will not be part of the team during the ODI matches following this series because of personal reasons. The Indian skipper Rohit Sharma has already been told about this decision by Pandya himself according to a report.
This was confirmed by an official saying, “the break from ODIs is for very personal reasons. Hardik doesn’t have any fitness issue as is being floated in the media.”
For the ODIs without Pandya, the leadership role could go either way between KL Rahul or Shubman Gill. Rahul led India in their previous ODI series in South Africa while Gill recently captained India that won 4-1 against Zimbabwe are considered for captaincy
A senior BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity that “Hardik Pandya was India’s T20 vice-captain under Rohit Sharma. He is completely fit and available for the three-match T20I series and will lead the side.”
Rohit Sharma alongside Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja retired from T20 Internationals after World Cup.
Pallekele will host the T20Is against Sri Lanka happening from July 27th to 30th. Colombo will host ODIs from August 2nd to 7th.
The squad for this series is expected within couple days according to sources.
It begins Gautam Gambhir era in Indian cricket; with vital inputs from new head coach expected towards making final decisions on team’s leadership and composition.
