Should India experiment with a split captaincy approach during the Sri Lanka series?

The second-string Indian cricket team that will tour Sri Lanka in July is expected to be privy to many new faces.

With most of the country's all-format regulars in England for the World Test Championship final and a five-match Test series, we may see uncapped and inexperienced players make their way to Sri Lanka for three ODIs and three T20Is.

The series presents India with an opportunity to try out new players ahead of the T20 World Cup - an oppportunity that wouldn't have arisen were it not for strict quarantine rules and tight scheduling.

The concept of split captaincy has been discussed on end when it comes to the Indian team, but it has never been seriously considered as an option. The Sri Lanka series might be the perfect time for the BCCI to experiment with an unconventional approach.

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Shikhar Dhawan and Hardik Pandya rumored to be the front-runners

The Australia series saw Hardik Pandya put in match-winning performances with the bat

As per early reports, Shikhar Dhawan will be the captain of the Indian team heading to Sri Lanka and Hardik Pandya will be his deputy.

Dhawan, having lost his place in the T20I side earlier this year against England, roared back into contention with a stellar Indian Premier League (IPL) in which he held the Orange Cap when the season was suspended. Pandya, meanwhile, is an indispensable member of the white-ball setup even if his bowling hasn't made frequent appearances.

According to a report from PTI, the injured Shreyas Iyer was the selectors' first choice to skipper the side in Sri Lanka. And in line with the same thinking about promoting youth and planning for the future, a split captaincy approach that benefits players apart from Dhawan and Pandya could help immensely.

As the most experienced member of the Indian squad expected to tour Sri Lanka, Dhawan is an easy pick to be at the helm. He has led the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL and Delhi in domestic cricket, and commands the respect of his teammates.

However, while Dhawan would be able to pass on all that he has learned over the course of an international career that began almost 11 years ago, his appointment might not help the team in the long run. At 35 years old, the veteran certainly isn't a candidate to succeed Virat Kohli. And as a free-spirited batsman, he may not be entirely suited to leadership even if he welcomes the opportunity with both hands.

Pandya, on the other hand, needs to bowl regularly to unleash his true potential. And if he does return to the incredible all-rounder he was before suffering back and shoulder injuries, he'll have too much on his plate if he's appointed captain. This is apart from the fact that he has barely any experience of leading a team, even at the domestic level.

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Who could captain India against Sri Lanka apart from Dhawan and Pandya?

Could it be time for Prithvi Shaw, the senior Indian captain?

It could be wise for India to start the tour, which begins an ODI on July 13, with either Dhawan or Pandya at the helm. But if the younger players such as Sanju Samson and Prithvi Shaw show signs of form early on, they could be entrusted with more responsibility in the form of captaincy.

Shaw is already an accomplished captain. He led India to the 2018 U-19 World Cup title and then skippered Mumbai to the 2021 Vijay Hazare Trophy. Importantly, in both tournaments, he showed that the pressure of leadership doesn't affect his approach to batting.

With a slightly modified technique, Shaw seems to be a different batsman when compared to the youngster who lost his place in the Test side and had a disastrous IPL 2020 campaign. The 21-year-old, with the guidance of Pravin Amre and Ricky Ponting, has reaffirmed his status as one of the brightest young talents in Indian cricket.

Sanju Samson, meanwhile, clearly exhibited signs of maturity and guts during IPL 2021. In his first stint as captain of an IPL team, he put the Rajasthan Royals' batting lineup on his back and played crucial, responsible innings for most of the tournament.

Samson appears to have come of age, something that should've happened a long time ago. With 114 IPL matches under his belt, the 26-year-old finally has the foundation to build on the seven matches he's played for India.

Shaw and Samson are nowhere near fixtures in the Indian team, so there's no grounds to claim that they should be appointed the full-time captain of the team heading to Sri Lanka. But a split captaincy approach, which could see either player handed the reins in the later half of the tour if their batting form holds up, is an idea worth considering.

Appointing either Shaw or Samson would not only help India build for the future but also give the player an immense confidence boost. It would be an admirable, bold display of trust, and could bring the best out of them even though they haven't done much of note at the international level.

The BCCI have rarely taken such risks in the past, so it isn't realistic to expect them to try out a split captaincy approach. But given the structure of the Sri Lanka tour, a different, young captain for the T20I leg could prove to be a moderate-risk, high-reward strategy.