NEW DELHI: All-rounder Hardik Pandya will lead India’s T20 side at home against Sri Lanka next week after selectors left several heavyweights out of the side.

Selectors have been under pressure to make wholesale changes to India’s white-ball squads after the side’s disappointing T20 World Cup semi-final defeat to England in November.

Sri Lanka’s tour begins with the first of three 20-over matches in Mumbai on January 3 before a three-match ODI series from January 10-15, with Pandya reprising his role as T20 captain for a second straight series, after leading India to victory over New Zealand in November.

Out-of-form wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has been dropped from both white-ball squads.

Ageing superstars Virat Kohli, 34, and Rohit Sharma, 35, were not included for the three-match T20 series but both return for the ODI portion of the tour.

Sharma returns as 50-over captain after a thumb injury that forced him to sit out most of this month’s Bangladesh tour.

Pandya, who captained the Gujarat Titans to the Indian Premier League title this year in their debut season, will also serve as vice-captain for the ODI series.

Veteran ODI opener Shikhar Dhawan, 37, who led the team for a three-match series against hosts New Zealand in December, was also dropped from the squad for up-and-coming rookies Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan after scoring just 18 runs across three matches in Bangladesh.

Sri Lanka have announced a 20-man squad for the tour with all-rounder and Asia Cup-winning skipper Dasun Shanaka leading the visitors in both formats.

India Squads:

Twenty20 Internationals: Hardik Pandya (captain), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, Mukesh Kumar.

One-day Internationals: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh.

Sri Lanka squad: Dasun Shanaka (captain), Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Kusal Mendis, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Wanindu Hasaranga, Ashen Bandara, Maheesh Theekshana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Chamika Karunaratne, Dilshan Madushanka, Kasun Rajitha, Nuwanidu Fernando, Dunith Wellalage, Pramod Madushan, Lahiru Kumara, Nuwan Thushara.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2022