India vs Sri Lanka 2017: 5 things to watch out for in the T20I series

2017 was a year full of surprises, and fantastic, competitive T20I matches all over the world. India won T20I series against England, Sri Lanka and New Zealand while drawing the onr against Australia. On the other hand, Sri Lanka failed to find much success in this format, losing the T20I series at home against India and Pakistan.

Coming to the series in question, both teams have players who specialize in this format and can prove to be match-winners on their day. Both sides will be hoping to end 2017 with a blast as they head into the final T20I series of the year.

Here are five things to watch out for:

#5 Rohit Sharma's captaincy

Rohit Sharma's astute captaincy skills in the IPL has helped him lift three trophies. It will be interesting to see how he approaches this series with a very young squad at his disposal. In the recent ODI series, he looked calm but aggressive with plenty of close-in fielders at the start of the innings and reasonable bowling changes.

In the T20Is, he will have MS Dhoni to help him in tense situations. Nevertheless, Rohit will be looking to use his experience from the IPL to help India win the T20I series as well. He will also look to build on the stellar double century he scored in the ODI series and produce match-winning performances at the top of the order in the shortest format as well.

#4 Sri Lankan bowling attack without Malinga

Malinga last played for Sri Lanka in September

Lasith Malinga was a surprise exclusion from the Sri Lankan squad that was announced earlier. Despite his reputation for being one of the best limited-overs bowlers, his form has eluded him in the recent past, resulting in his omission.

However, this will be a great opportunity for upcoming bowlers like Vishwa Fernando and Dushmantha Chameera to step up their game and pose a threat to the formidable Indian batting line-up. Fernando, the left arm quick, played in the series against India earlier this year and impressed everyone with his variations, swing and bounce.

Chameera, on the other hand, did not have the best series against Pakistan and will be looking to regain some form.

#3 Young Indian batting line-up

Shreyas Iyer is in good nick

There are plenty of fresh faces in this Indian side, including Deepak Hooda and Shreyas Iyer. Their exuberance is sure to entertain the viewers. On the other hand, players like Rohit Sharma and MS. Dhoni will be tasked with shepherding the side and keeping things calm in the middle.

KL Rahul also returns to the squad, making it an interesting battle for the No. 3 and No. 4 slots. Iyer has started his international career with a bang, notching a couple of good 50s batting at No. 3, and hence should feature in the same spot in the T20I series as well. Rahul though does not have too much cricket under his belt lately so might not make the playing XI for the initial games.

#2 Thisara Perera as the Sri Lankan captain

Thisara Perera led Sri Lanka in Lahore earlier

A few cricketing pundits have hailed Perera as a sound captaincy choice, however, the results are yet to be seen. Sri Lanka were whitewashed by Pakistan earlier which gives him a good opportunity to redeem himself as the captain. The win at Dharamsala must have given him the confidence to lead this side to victory in the T20I format too.

Recently, Upul Tharanga was stripped of captaincy as a result of poor performances, and Perera was named the replacement. His form will be important to Sri Lanka's chances in the series as the younger players will be looking up to him for confidence.

Although his current form is worrisome, he has played in T20 leagues around the world and will use that experience to try and win this series against India. This series might determine his future as a captain and as a player too. With all this playing on his mind, it will be a true test of his character and leadership.

#1 New look bowling attack

Washington Sundar will be eager to make his mark in T20s after a stellar IPL season

The IPL has proved beneficial for the selectors as they have been able to spot bowling talents like Washington Sundar, Basil Thampi and Jaydev Unadkat. India have a lot more depth in their bowling department now than a few years ago and hence can rotate bowlers at will.

Washington made a successful debut in the ODI series and will be looking to repeat the same in the T20I series. His batting skills, as seen in the Ranji Trophy, will also come under scrutiny.

Thampi meanwhile is known for his pace, aggression and ability to bowl yorkers at will. Unadkat picked up a hat-trick in IPL 2017 and was one of the leading wicket-takers in the competition. Ashish Nehra's retirement has made him the premier left-arm bowler in the country.

All the bowlers have proved themselves against top batsmen in the IPL and will be looking to go all out against Sri Lanka starting December 20th.