IND vs SL LIVE: IND SL 1st T20 LIVE: India T20 Reboot begins in new year with SriLanka on January 3. But new captain Hardik and coach Rahul Dravid will still have same old selection puzzles. Even though India will prioritize more all-rounders in the Playing XI, they have to choose the right ones. In Mumbai, India have their first Test. But three selection puzzles will dominate team discussions. Deepak Hooda vs Axar Patel, Shubman Gill vs Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sanju Samson vs Rahul Tripathi will be the puzzles to solve. Follow India vs SriLanka LIVE Updates on InsideSport.IN.
India’s Selection Puzzles:
- Shubman Gill or Ruturaj Gaikwad?
- Sanju Samson or Rahul Tripathi?
- Deepak Hooda or Axar Patel?
IND vs SL LIVE: Deepak Hooda or Axar Patel? Shubman Gill or Ruturaj Gaikwad? Sanju Samson or Rahul Tripathi, Check India’s 3 BIG Selection PUZZLE, Check OUT
Shubman Gill or Ruturaj Gaikwad? – With Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli out of the T20 series, India have to identify their 2nd opener. Ishan Kishan will open but India are spoilt for choices in opening. Shubman Gill and Ruturaj Gaikwad are the two options. While Shubman has established himself as the opener in ODIs, Ruturaj hasn’t been able to.
With India T20 Reboot, Dravid will use Sri Lanka and New Zealand matches as the platforms to experiment and test different combinations. For the time being, Gill has an upper hand with scoring form over Gaikwad. However, Gaikwad has already made his T20 debut and that could give him e boost in selection. However, India also have Deepak Hooda and Sanju Samson as openers. Even Suryakumar Yadav can do the job.
IND vs SL LIVE: Deepak Hooda or Axar Patel? Shubman Gill or Ruturaj Gaikwad? Sanju Samson or Rahul Tripathi, Check India’s 3 BIG Selection PUZZLE, Check OUT
Sanju Samson or Rahul Tripathi? – Snubbed and dropped and benched, Sanju Samson and Rahul Tripathi are on the same boat when it comes to their luck in Team India. But both are too good to ignore. Samson has proven that he is flexible and can do the job at any number. Team India are also looking at Samson and Hardik as two specialist finishers. Considering that, he could edge Tripathi. But for the SRH star, he has already spent 12 matches for India on the bench.
He needs to get a chance to prove himself. With Ishan Kishan already in the Playing XI, India can opt for someone like Tripathi, who can also bowl part-time.
Deepak Hooda or Axar Patel: However, between two all-rounders, India will have a hard time choosing. Deepak Hooda has also been in and out of the team. But that’s more to do with seniors than his performances. He needs a longer rope to shine. However, Axar Patel has delivered in all three formats with both bat and the ball. Although he was off-colour in T20 World Cup, Axar is one to look for with left-arm spin inside the powerplay. With Hardik and Washington Sundar batting at No 5 and 6, Axar could be India’s finisher with the bat.
- Deepak Hooda has scored 302 runs in 12 innings in 2022.
- He has a century to his name beside a staggering strike rate of 150.24.
- Hooda has also picked up 5 wickets with an economy rate of just 4.57 in 6 innings.
- Axar Patel has scored 93 runs in 2022 in 12 innings. But he has faced only 67 balls in the year.
- With a 138.80 strike rate, he is not a bad option.
- He has also picked up 21 wickets including in the powerplay.
India’s squad for Sri Lanka T20Is: 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.
IND vs SL LIVE: Deepak Hooda or Axar Patel? Shubman Gill or Ruturaj Gaikwad? Sanju Samson or Rahul Tripathi, Check India’s 3 BIG Selection PUZZLE, Check OUT
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Editors pick
