Injury-marred India await SL for white-ball series

The BCCI selectors have settled to keep India's ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah and premier all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja under observation to ensure the duo are match ready before getting back into action.

Jasprit Bumrah was declared fit and was available for selection, but the selectors don't want to rush him back.

Before bringing him back to international cricket, they want to evaluate him with training that resembles the workload of a proper match ESPNcricinfo reports.

The reason Ravindra Jadeja, previously named to the team for the Bangladesh tour, is still not playing for his country in international cricket, is also due to the same rationale.

Rohit Sharma has resumed batting in the nets but is anticipated to get back into action by the end of the first week of January and would be fully prepared for the ODI series against Sri Lanka. He will therefore be unable to play in the T20Is beginning January 3.

After the entire tour of Bangladesh, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli are now resting. Although neither of them requested the break, the selectors believed they needed time to rest.

Prior to the upcoming Test series against Australia in February, Rishabh Pant has been assigned to the NCA for strength and conditioning. After participating in 44 international matches this year, the team management believes he will play a significant part in the Test matches and will benefit from this downtime.

India must defeat Australia in three out of the four Tests to advance to the World Test Championship final.

The appointment of Hardik Pandya to full-time vice-captain in both formats, which recognises his leadership skills, is a huge move.

That ought to serve as more evidence that Rahul, the former vice-captain, is not guaranteed a spot in any white-ball competition.

Shikhar Dhawan has been benched despite leading the ODI team throughout the past two years while the key players concentrated on T20Is.

Ishan Kishan got a double century in his place during the third One-Day International against Bangladesh.

Shubman Gill is another competitor vying for the available position. Even Pant, who currently appears to be in the middle order and struck a hundred against England in three innings, can't be completely ruled out as the opener.

The absence of Prasidh Krishna, who provided India with a competitive edge in the middle overs thanks to his height, pace, and hard lengths, is a major worry as they head into the World Cup year.

At the start of India A's series against New Zealand in September, Prasidh had a back ailment from which he has not yet fully recovered.

Prasidh's absence has seen the selectors rope in pacers Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik and Mohammed Shami to find a suitable replacement.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar's name was not mentioned at all, which suggests that he was dropped, and Deepak Chahar is still recovering from the injury he sustained during the Bangladesh tour.

Ravi Bishnoi was discharged after spending time with the squad last year since the selectors appear to have settled on Yuzvendra Chahal as the only legspinner in the white-ball squads.

Shreyas Iyer and Mohammed Siraj will take a break for the T20I series and return for the ODIs.

India's squad for Sri Lanka T20Is: Hardik Pandya (Captain), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (VC), Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi and Mukesh Kumar.

India's squad for Sri Lanka ODIs: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya (VC), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh.