With about 10 months to go for the T20 World Cup, India and Sri Lanka will look to try out various options as they begin the New Year with the first of the three-match series at the ACA Stadium, Barsapara, here on Sunday.
“Because the tournament is in Australia, you will need several options and back-ups ready. We need to identify five or six guys on priority, who goes (first) and then the back-ups. With fast bowlers niggles can happen. We're pretty sorted out in that regard,” said India captain Virat Kohli on Saturday.
Opportunities
By resting opener Rohit Sharma and speedster Mohammed Shami, India has given others opportunities.
Jasprit Bumrah’s comeback is one of the major highlights of the series. The pace ace was out of action for four months owing to a back injury and would like to regain his touch.
Bumrah’s combination with other pacers, including Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini and all-rounder Shivam Dube, will be interesting to note.
Rohit’s absence brings together K.L. Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan as an alternative opening pair. Sanju Samson, who played his only T20 for the country in 2015, will be a back-up opener and a second choice wicketkeeper.
Rishabh Pant gets a chance to rectify his glove-work and boost his confidence. The spin quartet of Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar will offer variety.
The Indians would also like to work on correcting their fielding, especially catching, which has been rather woeful in recent times.
The last time the two teams met was in the Nidahas Trophy almost two years ago and India would want to keep its decade-old record of not having lost a series to its neighbour.
Sri Lanka has been strengthened by the return of the hard-hitting Angelo Mathews, though he hasn’t played a T20 match in some time and has not been bowling in order to avoid injuries.
The islanders, who have been beaten in nine of their last 13 T20Is and are coming off a 3-0 loss to Australia down under, have included Kasun Rajitha in place of injured fast bowler Nuwan Pradeep while Shehan Jayasuriya has made way for Dhananjaya de Silva.
Both bowling units are likely to be tested thoroughly on a batsman-friendly track, with the dew factor adding to the bowlers’ woes.
Security
The Assam Cricket Association (ACA) and the State government have made arrangements to thwart any anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests during the match.
Rain, however, could play spoilsport. The ACA authorities, who are looking forward to hosting some Indian Premier League matches, trust the state-of-the-art drainage system to come in handy in case of a rain interruption.
The teams (from):
India: Virat Kohli (Capt.), Shikhar Dhawan, K.L. Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Sanju Samson (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shivam Dube, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini, Jasprit Bumrah and Washington Sundar.
Sri Lanka: Lasith Malinga (Capt.), Danushka Gunathilaka, Avishka Fernando, Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Kusal Perera, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Isuru Udana, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Oshada Fernando, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lahiru Kumara, Kusal Mendis (wk), Lakshan Sandakan and Kasun Rajitha.
On-field umpires: Anil Choudhary and Nitin Menon; TV umpire: C. Shamsuddin; Fourth umpire: Virender Sharma; Match referee: David Boon.
Match starts at 7 p.m.
