Newly-appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir wants Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and Rohit Sharma to feature in the upcoming ODI series against Sri Lanka which will begin on August 2, reported Indian media on Tuesday.
Gambhir was recently announced as India’s head coach by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after he led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their first Indian Premier League (IPL) title since 2014.
The white-ball series, comprising three T20Is and as many ODIs, will begin on July 27 in Pallekele and this will be Gambhir’s first assignment as India’s coach.
There had been reports that Kohli, Rohit, Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja would not be featuring in Sri Lanka’s ODI series to continue their break from cricket after winning the T20 World Cup 2024 but Gambhir’s request could cut short their vacation.
The reason Gambhir wants the three senior players to feature in the Sri Lanka series is that after the matches, India will have a break of six weeks as they will then face Bangladesh in a home Test series in Chennai on September 19.
On the other hand, another senior member of the Indian cricket team, Hardik Panya, will miss the Sri Lanka series due to personal issues.
The Indian squads for the Sri Lanka series are likely to be announced today.
India vs Sri Lanka Schedule:
T20I Series:
1st T20I: July 27 @ Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele
2nd T20I: July 28 @ Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele
3rd T20I: July 30 @ Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele
ODI Series:
1st ODI: August 2 @ R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium, Colombo
2nd ODI: August 4 @ R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium, Colombo
3rd ODI: August 7 @ R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium, Colombo
- Gautam Gambhir
