India Playing XI vs SL 2nd T20: Head coach on Sri Lanka tour Rahul Dravid is in big trouble as the 2nd T20 is going ahead as scheduled. With 9 players ruled out of the match, Team India are left with only handful of specialist batsmen ahead of the 2nd T20 as Manish Pandey is also amongst the players ruled out as Covid positive Krunal Pandya’s close contacts.
As per reports, Manish Pandey are also amongst the close contacts and it means that India will find it difficult to field a Playing XI. As per information available with InsideSport, all the nine players including Krunal Pandya have been ruled out of the series as the close contacts will have to be in isolation for three days.
India Playing XI vs SL 2nd T20: Players who are ruled out of the series:
Krunal Pandya
Hardik Pandya
Suryakumar Yadav
Deepak Chahar
Prithvi Shaw
Ishan Kishan
Krishnappa Gowtham
Manish Pandey
India Playing XI vs SL 2nd T20: As per information with InsideSport, there will be debuts for some. While reports say Devdutt Padikkal is available but InsideSport could not verify the claims. While Shikhar Dhawan and Rahul Dravid wanted to wrap up the series in the 2nd T20 and give chances to youngsters, that will now have to wait.
Instead, Team India will be searching for answers to field a balanced side in absence of star players. The primary problem is in the batting department as most of the players isolated are batsmen. Considering that, here we take a look at who could Rahul Dravid field.
India Playing XI vs SL 2nd T20:
Openers: Shikhar Dhawan & Devdutt Padikkal: With Prithvi Shaw, Ishan Kishan ruled out, Shikhar Dhawan will open with Devdutt Padikkal if he is available as per unconfirmed reports. Devdutt Padikkal will be handed India debut. As per reports, Devdutt Padikkal could be available but InsideSport could not verify those claims.
At No 3: Ruturaj Gaikwad: Good news is that Ruturaj Gaikwad is also available and will make his India debut. He will have a big responsibility at No 3.
No 4: Sanju Samson (WK): With Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav ruled out, Sanju Samson will play at No 4 and will don the big gloves in the 2nd T20. He has had good starts but has failed to build up on his innings. He will be eager to take the opportunity.
India Playing XI vs SL 2nd T20:
At No 5: Nitish Rana: Another batsman who is available is Nitish Rana who will make T20I his debut. After an unimpressive ODI debut, Rana will be looking to capitalise on his chance.
At No 6: Rahul Chahar: Another bowler to make the squad will be Rahul Chahar but more than bowling, Team India will be looking at his batting skills. He has batted a bit for Mumbai Indians but he will have to replicate his brother Deepak Chahar’s batting skills. Deepak Chahar is also in isolation.
At No 7: Bhuvneshwar Kumar: In Shikhar Dhawan’s absence, Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be the captain. But similar to other bowlers, Bhuvneshwar Kumar too will have to bring his A-game as a batsman more than the bowler. In the middle order, a lot will depend on him if India chase the match.
At No 8: Navdeep Saini: India’s third pace bowler will be Navdeep Saini in Hardik Pandya’s absence and is expected to bat at No 9 as he has shown glimpses of his batting abilities before.
At No 9: Varun Chakravarthy: The mystery spinner will retain his place and will aim to do well after the debut blues.
At No 10: Yuzvendra Chahal: He has found his form and will look to play a leading role in India’s spin department in the 2nd T20.
At No 11: Chetan Sakariya: Another bowler who is set for debut is Chetan Sakariya who recently made his debut in the ODIs and was impressive.
Editors pick
