The All India Selection Committee has announced the squad for the Sri Lanka tour and opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan would be leading the side which is slated to play three ODIs and as many T20Is.
Dhawan expressed his delight in a Twitter post. “Humbled by the opportunity to lead my country. Thank you for all your wishes,” tweeted the left-hander.
The southpaw has played 34 Tests, 145 ODIs and 65 T20Is for India. While Dhawan would be leading the side, fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been named as his deputy.
The squad has some new faces as well. Knight Riders batsman Nitish Rana, Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Devdutt Padikkal, Rajasthan Royals' Chetan Sakariya, Chennai Super Kings’ Ruturaj Gaikwad and K Gowtham have received the call-up.
The series will commence with the first ODI taking place on July 13 at the R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium, Colombo with all the fixtures taking place at the same venue. The T20I series will begin on July 21.
India’s squad: Shikhar Dhawan (Captain), Prithvi Shaw, Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suryakumar Yadav, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Rana, Ishan Kishan (Wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (Wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar, K Gowtham, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Vice-captain), Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini, Chetan Sakariya
Net Bowlers: Ishan Porel, Sandeep Warrier, Arshdeep Singh, Sai Kishore, Simarjeet Singh