VVS Laxman picks his preferred Indian XI for the ODI series against SL

VVS Laxman has picked his preferred Indian playing XI for the ODI series against Sri Lanka.

Team India will play six limited-overs internationals, including three ODIs and as many T20Is, during their Sri Lanka tour. A 20-member squad led by Shikhar Dhawan has been named for this series.

During a discussion on Star Sports, VVS Laxman named the seven batsmen and all-rounders who would comprise his Team India playing XI for the ODIs. The former Indian batsman said:

"Well it's a very detailed squad, a 20-man squad. But I will go with Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, the No.3 batsman would be Suryakumar Yadav. At No.4 will be Sanju Samson in ODIs, No.5 will be Manish Pandey, at No.6 I will go with Hardik Pandya, No.7 Krunal Pandya."

The Young Gun reunites with The Wall 💙Will Rahul Dravid bring out the best of @PrithviShaw once again? 🤩🤞🏻#SLvIND pic.twitter.com/SJ3T1svlpX

— Delhi Capitals (Stay Home. Wear Double Masks😷) (@DelhiCapitals) July 6, 2021

Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Rana and Ishan Kishan are the other batsmen in the 20-member squad who failed to make the playing XI chosen by VVS Laxman.

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VVS Laxman's choice of bowlers in his preferred ODI playing XI

VVS Laxman wants Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal to play in tandem

VVS Laxman picked two swing bowlers and as many wrist-spinners as his four specialist bowlers. The 46-year-old observed:

"I will have two fast bowlers in Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Deepak Chahar and two spinners will be Kuldeep and Chahal. This is my ODI XI."

With news filtering in that Hardik Pandya is likely to bowl, Irfan Pathan opted to pick an additional batsman in Nitish Rana ahead of Krunal Pandya while sticking with the rest of the playing XI picked by VVS Laxman. The former Indian all-rounder said:

"Only one change I would like, Hardik Pandya is bowling, so I will have him as an all-rounder, one more batsman I will add - Nitish Rana in place of Krunal. Apart from that same, because I will like to see Hardik Pandya bowl quite a few number of overs."

While Hardik Pandya might be seen bowling in Sri Lanka, Team India is likely to keep the buffer of an additional bowling option. The elder Pandya should feature in the playing XI in such a scenario.

Perfect day of training 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/AEG20IQx0r

— Krunal Pandya (@krunalpandya24) July 2, 2021

Navdeep Saini, Chetan Sakariya, Rahul Chahar, Krishnappa Gowtham and Varun Chakravarthy are the bowlers who failed to find favor with both VVS Laxman and Irfan Pathan.