No place for Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube as ex-pacer names India’s Playing XI for first T20I against Sri Lanka

Team India will embark on a new journey on Saturday (July 27) when their three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka gets underway. It will be India’s first series under new captain Suryakumar Yadav and new head coach Gautam Gambhir.

Both Gambhir and Suryakumar took charge earlier this month. While Gambhir replaced Rahul Dravid as the head coach, Suryakumar replaced Rohit Sharma as India’s new T20I captain. Apart from Rohit, the likes of Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja also retired from T20Is last month following the victory in the T20 World Cup.

With three of India’s most experienced players retiring from T20Is, the series against Sri Lanka will mark the beginning of a new and exciting phase for Indian cricket. The Men in Blue will be hoping to start the new journey on a positive note.

As India gear up for the much-awaited game, the Indian cricketing fraternity is eagerly waiting to see the new team combination after the retirement of the stalwarts. And while only time will reveal India’s team combination, former pacer Munaf Patel has revealed his picks.

Munaf Patel picks India Playing XI:

The former India pacer, on Saturday (July 27), took to X to name his India Playing XI for the first game against Sri Lanka. As openers, he picked Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill before putting Suryakumar at number three. 

For the wicketkeeper’s slot, he picked Rishabh Pant over Sanju Samson. In the middle-order, Munaf Patel picked Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh while also naming Washington Sundar and Axar Patel as other allrounders. For the bowling combination, Munaf went with two frontline pacers and one spinner.

Munaf Patel’s Playing XI:

Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj

My 11 for today’s match

Gill
Jaiswal
SKY
Pant
Hardik
Rinku
Sundar
Axar
Bishnoi
Arshdeep
Siraj

What’s yours?#INDvsSL pic.twitter.com/leIRVEeqks

— Munaf Patel (@munafpa99881129) July 27, 2024

Just like India, Sri Lanka will be starting a new journey in T20Is as well. They will also be led by a new captain in the series. After Wanindu Hasaranga stepped down from the post, Sri Lanka have appointed Charith Asalanka as the new captain. Sri Lanka had a disastrous campaign in the T20 World Cup where they failed to get past the group stage and will be looking to do well in the upcoming series.