The beautiful Dhauladhar range in the Himalayan Chains in Dharamsala can be a pleasant distraction but all eyes will be on the two leading men from Sri Lanka and India, Thisara Perera and Rohit Sharma, as they lead out their national teams in ODI cricket for the very first time on Sunday, 10th December in the first match in the three-match series.
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Sri Lanka is on a 12-match losing streak while India, the world number 1 ranked team will be eyeing another addition to their massive trophy cabinet.
The last time the two teams played, only a few months ago, Sri Lanka were crushed 5-0 in their own backyard by the mighty Indians. Since then, Sri Lanka were handed their third 5-0 whitewash for the year by Pakistan in the UAE.
Many believe Sri Lanka’s downward spiral started when they were made to tour India hurriedly in the latter part of 2014 where the visitors lost 5-0, their first whitewash in a five-match series and so it would be ideal if Sri Lanka could turn things around back where the rut began.
The recently concluded Test series where Sri Lanka managed to draw two games against all odds will give them plenty of confidence to break their hoodoo in 50-over cricket.
Asela and Kusal back for India ODIs
Thisara Perera will lead a strong 16-man Sri Lanka squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against India which starts on 10th December in Dharmasala.
Rankings Scenario
Currently, India and South Africa jointly hold the number one position in the ICC ODI Team rankings with 120 rating points. Only a 3-0 whitewash against Sri Lanka would ensure that India reach 121 rating points and finish the year as the top team in the world.
If India win 2-1, their rating point will go down to 119 and South Africa will end the year as the number one side. If any of the matches are abandoned and the series is tied at 1-1, India will drop down to number two in the ranking chart.
Sri Lanka, ranked number 8 will not have any chance of climbing the ladder even if they win 3-0 but a 2-1 win will definitely boost their morale and confidence to prop up their preparations for 2018.
Kohli rested for Sri Lanka ODIs, Rohit Sharma named skipper
Virat Kohli, the Indian skipper, has been rested for the ODI series against Sri Lanka, the BCCI announced…
India
The regular captain, Virat Kohli was given a much-deserved break before the hectic away schedule which opened the doors for Sharma to step in and become the 24th Indian ODI captain. Kohli will be sorely missed but even without him, India is still a formidable outfit in limited-overs cricket.
They have named Shreyas Iyer and Siddharth Kaul in the squad for the first time but the rest of the squad was unsurprising.
Hardik Pandya returns to the fray after resting during the Tests while the newly-married Bhuvneshwar Kumar will once again partner up with the deadly Jasprit Bumrah as the fast bowling duo backed up by the wrist-spin twins, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal.
MS Dhoni’s experience will be vital in Kohli’s absence as the team management will look to test their bench strength against the Lankans.
India Squad
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul
Asela and KJP will be crucial believes Thisara
Sri Lanka’s new ODI captain Thisara Perera believes that the return of all-rounder Asela Gunaratne and…
Sri Lanka
Thisara Perera will become the 5th ODI captain for Sri Lanka this year and he believes that his team is only one win away from changing their course in limited-overs cricket. Despite losing 3-0 against Pakistan in T20Is, Perera was admired by many for his leadership skills but the biggest question remains is whether he can perform with both bat and ball.
Irrespective of the format, Angelo Mathews remains the best batsman for Sri Lanka and his return to the ODI setup will boost their chances and balance the side as he is set to run in and deliver some overs as well. The star all-rounder, Asela Gunaratne, is back to add the much-needed depth and zest to Sri Lanka’s batting.
Sri Lanka will have plenty of options in their squad to fill up their top order and after quite a while, they have around 6-7 injury-free candidates for only four spots in their batting lineup.
With the exclusion of specialist leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay, Sri Lanka will depend on either Chathuranga De Silva or Sachith Pathirana to partner with Akila Dananjaya.
The conditions in Dharmasala will assist the pacemen yet the visitors might decide to go in with just Suranga Lakmal and Nuwan Pradeep as their frontline seamers.
Sri Lanka Squad
Thisara Perera (Captain), Upul Tharanga, Danushka Gunathilaka, Lahiru Thirimanne, Angelo Mathews, Asela Gunaratne, Niroshan Dickwella (WK), Chaturanga de Silva, Akila Dananjaya, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dushmantha Chameera, Sachith Pathirana, Kusal Perera
Sri Lanka vs India – ODI Schedule
- 1st ODI – Dharamsala – 10th December – 11.30am
- 2nd ODI – Mohali – 13th December – 11.30am
- 3rd ODI – Visakhapatnam – 17th December – 1.30pm
