July 20th 2024.
Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has raised concerns about the exclusion of Yuzvendra Chahal and Abhishek Sharma from the Men in Blue's squad for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka. The team, under the leadership of new coach Gautam Gambhir, is set to play three T20Is and three ODIs starting from July 27. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squad for both formats on Thursday, with Suryakumar Yadav being named as the new T20 captain after Rohit Sharma's retirement from the format.
The omission of Abhishek Sharma from the T20I squad has sparked a lot of discussion, especially since he recently made his debut against Zimbabwe and even scored a century in his second match. He was not included in either squad, while Chahal, who was a part of the T20 World Cup, has also been dropped for the Sri Lanka tour. In addition, wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson has only been named in the T20I squad and not in the ODIs, as Rishabh Pant has been given a chance to make a comeback after his successful return to the Indian team during the T20 World Cup last month.
Expressing his confusion over the team selection, Harbhajan took to social media and wrote, "Hard to understand why Yuzvendra Chahal, Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma are not a part of the Indian team for Sri Lanka." He shared his thoughts on Twitter, where he has a huge following.
Moreover, India's key players, who were rested for the Zimbabwe tour, will be returning to the T20I squad. The inclusion of Harshit Rana in the ODI squad was a notable decision made by the BCCI. The 22-year-old Delhi pacer, who was mentored by Gambhir during his time with Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, has received his first call-up to the national team. In the 2024 IPL season, he took 19 wickets in just 13 matches for KKR and emerged as the second-highest wicket-taker for the franchise, just behind Varun Chakaravarthy who took 21 wickets.
The T20I squad for India includes Suryakumar Yadav, Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, and Mohd. Siraj. On the other hand, the ODI squad consists of Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, and Harshit Rana. The first T20I between India and Sri Lanka is scheduled to be played in Pallekele on July 27.
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