More than the results, the upcoming T20 series against Sri Lanka is more about experimenting with the right combination and also giving everyone adequate match time ahead of the all-important World T20 .
So tight is Team India's cricket calendar that the players hardly get time to introspect the defeats or celebrate victories.
A week after they swept the three-match T20 series against Australia Down Under, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men are back to their routine. Their next assignment is a T20 triple-header against Sri Lanka starting this Tuesday in Pune. The series wasn't a part of the Future Tours & Programme of the Indian cricket team and it was squeezed between the Australia series and the Asia Cup in Bangladesh as part of their preparation for the biennial ICC World Twenty20 to be played in India in March-April.
A series triumph or defeat against the Lankans will be a matter of little concern as the focus will be on how the Indian captain gets his combination right ahead of the mega event. Dhoni, who is often rigid with his player choices, will have no option but to experiment and test different players in various situations and also get accustomed to the format while playing on Indian wickets, having played only two T20Is at home in the last two years, both against the visiting South Africa last year end.
With the in-form Virat Kohli taking a short break from this series, this will be a good opportunity for someone like Ajinkya Rahane to strengthen his claim for a top order slot. But more than anything, it will be a sort of tests for comeback men Yuvraj Singh, Ashish Nehra and Harbhajan Singh. The dashing southpaw, once a T20 phenomenon, is past his prime. He has been picked purely on the basis of his experience and reputation of a big hitter apart from being a handy left-arm spinner. Yuvraj did not get to bat in the first two T20s in Australia. In the third, Dhoni promoted him to No. 5 in a heavy chase.
That he is an aging lion was seen with the way he missed a few deliveries initially before whacking the young Aussie pacer Andrew Tye for a four to fine leg and a six over mid-wicket in the final over, showing glimpses of the old Yuvraj, that set up India's win. The Sri Lanka series at home will be an ideal platform for Yuvraj to bat at No. 5 and get back the confidence, if not the reflexes.
Nehra, Dhoni's preferred choice in T20s, will be keen to show his seaming skills. Yes, at 36, he can still clock 140 kmph and give any youngster a run for his money in terms of accuracy. And, very few will doubt his ability to choke the best of batsmen at the death. Harbhajan Singh, who did not get a single game in Australia, will be hoping to get a few this time that will prepare him ahead of the big games. That he still has it in him as far as T20 is concerned was seen in the Indian Premier League. What will be more interesting if Dhoni will go in with two off-spinners, the other being Ravichandran Ashwin. That could be a possibility, though, having seen with the way how Dhoni's brain functions.
This series is not just restricted to the comeback men, but also for some young guns too like Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah who will be keen to make a mark in their maiden international appearance on home soil.
Who can forget the man of the moment, the all-rounder Pawan Negi from Delhi? All eyes will be on the man who has been picked in the Indian team for the Sri Lanka series and the ensuing Asia Cup and World T20 from nowhere.
Not just that. A few hours later, the left-arm spinner became the highest-sold Indian player in the IPL auction for Rs 8.5 crore to Delhi Daredevils. And, for some like the talented Manish Pandey and medium-pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, both not in the World T20 squad, it is nothing but another opportunity to play for India.
r_taus@dnaindia.net
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