IND vs SL 2023: Predicting India’s XI for first T20I match

    Hardik Pandya will be leading the side in the absence of Rohit Sharma.

    Middle order: Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Sanju Samson (wk)

    Suryakumar Yadav
    Suryakumar Yadav. (Image Credits: Twitter)

    Suryakumar Yadav is currently ranked the numero uno batsman in the ICC Men’s ODI Player Rankings. Popularly known as Sky, the Mumbai-born cricketer has often inflicted surreal destruction on opposition teams by scoring runs at the rate of knots.

    Having his presence in the T20I set-up is certainly a massive boost for the Indian cricket team going forward into the T20 World Cup 2024. On the other hand, Deepak Hooda has looked very much dangerous with the bat in the limited opportunities that he has so far.

    While Sky has two centuries in T20Is, Deepak Hooda scored one century in the shortest format. Sanju Samson, who hasn’t been getting enough chances to play for the team, now gets an opportunity to play the role of wicketkeeper-batsman for Sri Lanka T20Is.

    Samson is yet to unleash his full potential in T20Is. He has scored just a solitary half-century in 16 T20Is for Team India. He will certainly be looking forward to cashing in on the chances to good effect, especially in the absence of Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul.

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