Indian ODI squad to face Sri Lanka announced

Openers KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma and fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah are back in the Indian ODI and T20I squad that will take on take on Sri Lanka in a five-match ODI series that begins on August 20 at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in Dambulla.

#TeamIndia for Sri Lanka ODIs & T20I - MSD (wk), Hardik, Axar, Kuldeep, Chahal, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar, Shardul - Part II

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 13, 2017

Wicketkeeper-bats Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, middle order batsman Yuvraj Singh, spinners Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin and pacers Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav are not included in the ODI squad.

It has been understood that Karthik, Pant and Yuvraj were dropped from the side while the reason for others' omission is not yet revealed.

Mumbai fast bowler Shardul Thakur has been called up to the ODI squad for the first time while spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Axar Patel, who did well for India A in the triangular series in South Africa, have been given a chance to prove themselves.

The 15-member squad led by Virat Kohli also features middle order batsman Manish Pandey, who is making a comeback to the ODI side after 2016. Manish Pandey, who had a great triangular series in South Africa has been rewarded for his performance.

Rahul's last limited-overs game for India was against England in the T20I series in January this year as the Karnataka batsman missed the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy and the subsequent West Indies series due to a shoulder injury.

Rahul's inclusion means there will be four regular openers in the squad and it is likely that the Karnataka batsman will be playing in the middle order.

Rohit and Bumrah, on the other hand, played in the Champions Trophy and were rested for the series against West Indies. The selectors also announced that Rohit will be the vice-captain of this team. Former Indian skipper MS Dhoni, all-rounder Hardik Pandya, batsmen Kedar Jadhav, Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan retain their place.

The same squad will represent India in the one-off T20I that follows the ODI series.

Squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni, Shardul Thakur, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Axar Patel, Kedar Jadhav, Yuzi Chahal.