Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma RESTED; Hardik Pandya to lead India in T20I series against Sri Lanka

Hardik Pandya will lead Team India in a three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka, which begins on January 3. The star all-rounder captained the side in the T20I series against New Zealand and has retained the captaincy in Rohit Sharma's absence. Rohit is out due to a thumb injury. He will play in the ODI series afterwards.

Other prominent members who aren't part of the team include Virat Kohli and KL Rahul. Kohli has allegedly been rested for the series, but the BCCI has not confirmed if Rahul has been dropped or rested. Kohli and Rahul have been picked to the One-Day International squad.

Rishabh Pant has been left out of the T20I and ODI squads. He was Pandya's replacement in the T20I series against New Zealand and appears to have been rested. The youngster was also sidelined for the ODI series against Bangladesh. He returned for two Tests.

#TeamIndia squad for three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka.#INDvSL @mastercardindia pic.twitter.com/iXNqsMkL0Q

— BCCI (@BCCI) December 27, 2022

Ruturaj Gaikwad has returned to the T20I team and is a strong candidate to start the innings. Deepak Hooda, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sanju Samson, and Harshal Patel are among those who have retained their spots.

Shivam Mavi and Mukesh Kumar have received their first T20I call-ups from the selectors. Mukesh was included to the ODI team for the home series against South Africa, however he did not play. They will serve pace with Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, and Umran Malik. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been left out of the T20I squad. Harshal, who made his India debut in 2021, is the squad's most seasoned pacer.

The three Twenty20 Internationals will be played on January 3, 5, and 7 at Mumbai, Pune, and Rajkot, respectively. Following the T20Is, the two sides will play three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) on January 10, 12, and 15.

India's T20I squad: Hardik Pandya (Captain), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (VC), Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, Mukesh Kumar

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