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Team India will embark on a short tour of Sri Lanka in July this year. The tour will comprise three one-day internationals and as many T20 international games, all of which will most likely be played at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. As this series would be sandwiched between the World Test Championship Final against New Zealand at Southampton and the Test series in England, the strict quarantine rules would forbid the England-bound all-format players to participate in it. Thus, the squad for the Sri Lanka sojourn would consist of a completely different set of players.
With all the members of the core leadership group - Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul (designated vice-captain for the limited-overs games for the Australian tour) - being part of the Test team, the selectors would have to identify a leader for the tour to Sri Lanka. Shreyas Iyer, who is often hailed as a future captain of India, would have been the perfect choice for the role. But he sustained a shoulder injury during the ODI match against England at Pune earlier this year, which would in all likelihood keep him out of action for an extended period.
In this article, we take a look at three possible candidates who could be selected to take up the captain's role in Sri Lanka.
3. Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya has been a part of the Indian team for more than five years now. He has become an integral part of the shorter formats and is a proven match-winner. With frequent injuries plaguing him over the past couple of years, he has not been able to bowl much. The handicap has limited Hardik's all-round efficacy and hence he is out of contention for the Tests. However, this could work to his advantage as he can focus solely on shorter formats, more so with two T20 World Cups coming up in the next 18 months.
The Baroda all-rounder would be well-served if he is presented with the additional responsibility of leading the Indian team in Sri Lanka. His ability to deliver under pressure and a great awareness of the match situation makes him a good choice for the captaincy role. The only drawback in Hardik's case would be his relative inexperience in leading teams, even at the domestic level.
2. Prithvi Shaw
Prithvi Shaw, the 21-year-old Mumbaikar, may be a great and surprising candidate for the leadership role for Team India in Sri Lanka.
With the regular leaders unavailable, it would not be a bad idea to throw a youngster into the ring and groom him as a future leader. International players like Graeme Smith and Jason Holder are the best products of this model. They took up captaincy at quite a young age and grew into successful leaders for their respective nations.
Prithvi Shaw has considerable leadership experience under his belt at the Under-19 level as he led the Indian Under-19 team to the World Cup triumph in 2018. After Shreyas Iyer left for national duty, Shaw was also in charge of the Mumbai team that won the recent Vijay Hazare Trophy. He blossomed with added responsibility and smashed a record 827 runs in the tournament which included four centuries.
If Shaw indeed leads the Indian team, he would emulate George Bailey’s feat of making his T20I debut as captain.
1. Shikhar Dhawan
Of all the candidates for the captain's position, Shikhar Dhawan looks the most probable and obvious choice. After being side-lined during the T20I series against England, he announced his return to form in IPL 2021, leading the runs tally before the tournament was suspended abruptly due to the rise of COVID-19 cases. With a major chunk of seniors missing, the southpaw would be the senior-most as well as the most experienced player in the squad - the perfect candidate to guide the youngsters.
Having made his international debut in 2010, Dhawan has been a star performer for India and has amassed almost 10000 runs combining all international formats. He is yet to lead the national team and is as deserving of an opportunity as anybody.
The Delhi opener has previously led his state team, as well as Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL, which would hold him in good stead if he is appointed captain. While Dhawan's experience is a major plus for him taking up Team India's leadership, his age serves as a minor drawback, as he is not somebody Team India would wish to groom for the future.
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