3 Indian players who might be dropped from the T20I side if they don't perform against Sri Lanka

Team India will face off against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday, January 3 in the first T20I of the three-match series.

The Men in Blue will want to get their act together in the shortest format, having suffered disappointing exits from the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup in 2022. Under the leadership of stand-in skipper Hardik Pandya, India will be keen to refine their T20I squad in the ongoing two-year cycle.

India's squad for the Sri Lanka T20Is: Hardik Pandya (captain), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (vice-captain), Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, Mukesh Kumar

As a result, a few names might not find favor with the selectors if they don't prove their worth in the immediate future. Here are three Indian players who might be dropped from the T20I side if they don't perform against Sri Lanka.

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#3 Ruturaj Gaikwad

India v South Africa - 1st T20

Will Ruturaj Gaikwad be part of India's playing XI for the first T20I against Sri Lanka? The Men in Blue have other options in Shubman Gill and Rahul Tripathi to partner Ishan Kishan, amid a plethora of middle-order batters who are perfectly capable of playing in the powerplay.

Gaikwad has underwhelmed in T20I cricket so far, with an average of 16.9 and a strike rate of 123.8 in nine innings. Strangely, he has played only one ODI - a format perhaps more suited to his style of play - to date. The selectors have picked him for the shortest format, though, on a regular basis.

Gaikwad wasn't at his best in the previous Indian Premier League season either. The right-hander could find himself out of the Team India T20I setup unless he strings together a few scores against Sri Lanka, assuming he makes the playing XI in the first place.

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#2 Harshal Patel

New Zealand v India - 3rd T20

Only two bowlers - Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh - scalped more T20I wickets for Team India than Harshal Patel. The canny speedster returned 23 wickets in 21 innings, playing a significant portion of the side's games in the calendar year.

Harshal's form wasn't great, though, as evidenced by his economy rate of 9.3. The 32-year-old lost his place in the side in the second half of the year and didn't make any meaningful contributions in the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup.

Harshal offers a unique ability to pick up wickets at the death and hit the deck hard, but he hasn't been able to translate his IPL form into international success. The fact that he can throw his bat around helps his cause, but it would be tough for the selectors to continue to select him if he doesn't produce a bagful of wickets against Sri Lanka.

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#1 Yuzvendra Chahal

New Zealand v India - 2nd T20

Another player who was massively involved in India's plans in 2022, Yuzvendra Chahal picked up 23 wickets in 21 matches at an acceptable economy rate of 7.71. But the leg-spinner wasn't anywhere near his best, barely offering any wicket-taking threat and often losing the plot at key junctures.

Chahal's form for India has been on the wane over the last three years and it's becoming almost impossible to back him. With younger options like Ravi Bishnoi, Rahul Chahar and Kuldeep Yadav in the mix, the team management could easily be forced into looking past the veteran bowler.

Chahal is the only leg-spinner in India's squad for the Sri Lanka T20I series. Unless he manages to improve upon his poor recent performances, he could find himself ousted from the setup.