Team India's newly-appointed captain for the Sri Lanka tour interacted with the media through a virtual press conference a day ahead of Men in Blue's opening encounter. The tour will kick off with a 3-match ODI series and the first contest is set to be played on July 18, Sunday at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Dhawan opened up on lot of key points, including the opening combination conundrum and the possibility of Kul-Cha reuniting on the tour.
One of the major talking points ahead of the 1st ODI has been the playing XI that India will go with. With so many young and exciting players like Prithvi Shaw, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devdutt Padikkal and Nitish Rana in the mix, the fans have been wondering who will get the nod in the opening encounter. While Dhawan clarified that the goal is to do well as a team irrespective of who plays, he did give a hint about the inclusion of Suryakumar Yadav in the playing XI.
Team for 1st ODI has been finalized, reveals Dhawan
The Indian skipper revealed that the team for Sunday's match has already been decided. Unlike the WTC Final, Dhawan added that the playing XI will be disclosed on match day itself. Talking about Suryakumar Yadav, Dhawan said that he is a great player.
"He has performed so well in domestic and international matches, which he played against England. He is a very talented player boy and I am sure he is going to be great in this series," said Dhawan while talking to media in a virtual press conference.
Kohli, Shastri and Dravid will mutually take decisions
Although the 35-year-old admitted that he has not had a chat with Virat Kohli or Ravi Shastri, he added that head coach Rahul Dravid would be in contact with them and the team selection during the tour would be made mutually by all the parties involved, keeping the upcoming T20 World Cup in mind.
With SKY doing well in the 3 T20Is that he played against England earlier this year, it is very likely that India will hand him his ODI cap as well on Sunday to give him the much-needed exposure of international cricket ahead of the mega event.