Picture Credit: Twitter/BCCI
Team India are set to tour Sri Lanka for a highly-anticipated limited-overs series. The young-looking team will play under the watchful eyes of Rahul Dravid who will be very keen to get the best out of everyone. The tour might serve as an audition for players to seal their berth in the Indian squad for the upcoming 2021 T20 World Cup. This is how the Men in Blue squad for Sri Lanka looks like:
Shikhar Dhawan (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Prithvi Shaw, Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suryakumar Yadav, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Rana, Ishan Kishan (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar, K Gowtham, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini, Chetan Sakariya
With so many domestic IPL stars getting a reward for their impressive performances, the players might want to grab the opportunity with both hands to push their case to be a part of India's World Cup squad for the tournament which will be played in UAE in October-November this year. Let us have a look at three players who can pass the audition with flying colours:
1. Suryakumar Yadav
The stylish right-handed batsman has undoubtedly been one of the most impressive players in India in the last two years. Suryakumar Yadav has established himself as someone who has all kinds of shots in the book and can play with a very impressive counter-attacking approach. He had a scintillating debut series against England and will get an opportunity to bat at No. 3 in Sri Lanka in absence of Virat Kohli.
If SKY can repeat his heroics during the tour, he is certain to get a call-up in India's squad for the 2021 T20 World Cup and could be the missing piece in the puzzle who can guide the Men in Blue to glory in an ICC event after 8 long years.
2. Sanju Samson
There is no doubt about the talent and match-winning abilities of Kerala's wicketkeeper-batsman. However, Sanju Samson has failed to live up to the expectations in the limited opportunities he has got for the national side. But the 26-year-old looked a lot more matured player during the first half of IPL 2021 with the captaincy responsibilities on his shoulders which has earned him another chance to make a comeback to the Indian side.
With India looking for a back-up for Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson will fight for that spot with Ishan Kishan during the Sri Lanka tour. With his ability to anchor the innings and changing the course of the match with his attacking approach, Samson might prove to the X-factor that India will be looking to have in their side for the mega event.
3. Varun Chakravarthy
The KKR spinner has unfortunately not been able to get a place in the Indian side due to his fitness issues. After finally getting the much-deserved opportunity, Varun Chakravarthy will want to leave no stones unturned while playing for India. The team is desperately looking for a mystery bowler who can bamboozle the opposition with Chahal and Kuldeep not living up to the expectations in recent times.
The 29-year-old has constantly impressed with his skills in IPL and if he can produce similar performances against Sri Lanka, the selectors might be tempted to get him into the Indian squad for the World Cup where Varun could be the secret weapon that India have been lacking in last few years. He will have to impress in whatever limited chances he gets on the tour.