After dominating the T20I series against the West Indies, India will look to continue their winning streak against Sri Lanka in a three-match series, which will also be their second T20 appearance before this year’s T20 World Cup. Skipper Rohit Sharma will be hoping his team can add another hit against the Windies. Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant were rested for rubber, but India had plenty of options, giving Rohit and head coach Rahul Dravid a headache.
Rohit may have no idea about the perfect team mix, but the seasoned batsman has a chance to join Kohli and MS Dhoni. If the 34-year-old batsman scores 63 in his first T20I match against Sri Lanka, he will become the third Indian captain after Kohli and Dhoni to achieve the feat. Overall, he will be the 10th captain to do so in the shortest time of the game.
Rohit will lead the team for the 26th time on Thursday, and if he breaks the 1,000-point mark, he will be tied with Babar Azam, who reached the milestone in 26 innings. The India captain also has a chance to overtake Martin Guptill as the leading scorer at the T20 International.
He has 66 games in the T20I series against West Indies, averaging 22.00 points per game, while Rohit will go even better against Sri Lanka. He’s just 37 times short of passing Guptill on the elusive roster.
Batsman Rohit may add to his already excellent cap, but the skipper can also lead India to their best T20 Internationals winning streak to date. A win in the series opener would be India’s 10th consecutive T20I victory.
With Suryakumar left out of the T20I series, it remains to be seen whether Rohit Ruturaj will elevate Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan to the top and put himself in the middle. India will also miss the services of Deepak Chahal, who will be sidelined with a hamstring injury. Sanju Samson was included in the T20I squad when players such as Kohli, Pant and Shardul Thakur were rested.
Rohit was named Test captain last week as he led India in all three formats. “It’s a huge honour to be captain of India in all three forms and it’s always a great feeling. I have a lot of challenges to look forward to. When the opportunity arises, I’m happy and delighted to be captain of the team ,” Rohit said at a virtual news conference on Wednesday.
“We have a solid group of people, so we’re looking forward to taking them to the park and seeing what we can do on the pitch,” he added.
Complete News Source : Hindustan Times
