3 uncapped players who could be called up to India's squad for the Sri Lanka series

The Indian cricket team is scheduled to tour England for a five-match Test series and the World Test Championship final against New Zealand next month. Around the same time, owing to unfulfilled promises and revenue generation, a second-string white-ball side will make its way to Sri Lanka for three ODIs and three T20Is.

With most of India's all-format stars expected to take part in the English red-ball leg, several uncapped players might get their maiden call-up to the national team against Sri Lanka. The 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) will, of course, have a massive say in selection, as will the domestic limited-overs season.

Here are three uncapped players who stand a chance of being called up to India's squad for the Sri Lanka tour.

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3. Ruturaj Gaikwad

Ruturaj Gaikwad

Ruturaj Gaikwad was one of the Chennai Super Kings' star performers in their run to the top of the points table in the first half of IPL 2021. The youngster, with the staunch backing of captain MS Dhoni, overcame an early slump to surge up the Orange Cap list.

Technically, Gaikwad is sound. Mentally, he has risen above adversity and passed Dhoni's curious psychological tests. Performance-wise, the Maharashtra-born batsman is in a rich vein of form.

Gaikwad has been in and around the India 'A' team for a while now, and his class has never been in question. The squad touring Sri Lanka will need backup openers, and the 24-year-old has an outside chance of receiving a maiden international call-up.

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2. Devdutt Padikkal

Devdutt Padikkal

Speaking of backup openers, Devdutt Padikkal might be the first man after Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw in the pecking order for the Sri Lanka tour. The young southpaw was in rollicking form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy, with over 950 runs across the two tournaments.

In IPL 2021, Padikkal notched up his maiden century in the competition, improved his middling strike rate from last year, and showed advancements in his technique. The 20-year-old could use the experience of international cricket at this stage of his career, and the sheer weight of runs he's scored over the last couple of years should be enough to convince the selectors.

Although he may not be first-choice, Padikkal could easily be called up to the Indian team for the first time.

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1. Varun Chakravarthy

Varun Chakravarthy

The only player on this list to have already received an Indian call-up, Varun Chakravarthy has seen misfortune befall him in a plethora of ways.

He first found himself in hot water for playing through an injury without informing the BCCI and then failed a fitness test with the national side. Chakravarthy recently tested positive for COVID-19, with a trip to the hospital for a scan reported to be the reason behind the bio-bubble breach.

The Sri Lanka series might finally give the mystery spinner the chance to impress the selectors ahead of the T20 World Cup, in which he could be a massive asset to the Indian team. Chakravarthy hasn't been 'figured out' yet, and with India's white-ball spinners in a lot of strife at the moment, the stars could finally align for him.