India vs Sri Lanka: From Prithvi Shaw to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, five Indian players to watch out for in limited-overs tour

A second-string Indian side, led by Shikhar Dhawan and coached by Rahul Dravid, are in Sri Lanka for a limited-overs series, comprising three ODIs and as many T20Is, starting 13 and 21 July respectively. Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium will host all the matches of the tour.

The tour will be a golden opportunity for the likes of Chetan Sakariya, Nitish Rana, Devdutt Padikkal, Krishnappa Gowtham and Ruturaj Gaikwad – who have received their maiden call-ups – to get themselves on the selectors’ radar ahead of the all-important T20 World Cup, beginning on 17 October.

The likes of Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal and Manish Pandey have already been seen in the India colours in the past, but will be keen to lead by example and make a statement, given the ever-increasing competition for a place in the India XI.

Ahead of the limited-overs series, we take a look at some of the key Indian players to watch out for:

Prithvi Shaw

The talented youngster from Mumbai was dropped after playing only one Test during India’s tour of Australia as criticism grew over his faulty technique against the moving ball.

But he worked hard on his game alongside his coach and former India batsman Pravin Amre and returned with a bang in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2020/21, wherein he finished as the leading run-getter. Maintaining a mind-boggling average of 165.40, Shaw amassed 827 runs from eight matches with a healthy strike rate of 138.29, and a highest score of 227*.

He then carried his rich vein of form into IPL 2021, the remainder of which is set to resume on 19 September in UAE. Explosive as ever, he appeared in a much better rhythm for Delhi Capitals as compared to the previous season, averaging 38.50 and striking at 166.48 in eight matches.

Given his rollicking form and the fact that India may begin the proceedings with a left-right combination, Shaw is likely to open alongside Shikhar Dhawan, getting the nod ahead of the young southpaw Devdutt Padikkal, another terrific performer in the domestic circuit, or Ruturaj Gaikwad, an emerging right-hander and another exciting prospect.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has endured a spate of injuries in the past few years. He played only four matches in IPL 2020 for his franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad before pulling his hamstring and opting out of the tournament.

After undergoing rehabilitation at the NCA in Bangalore, he finally made a comeback during India’s limited-overs home series against England. The 31-year-old picked up four wickets from five T20I games, along with an economy rate of 6.38. He fared even better in the three ODIs, scalping six wickets along with an impressive economy of 4.65.

Even in IPL 2021, he walked off the field after clutching his thigh in the game against Punjab Kings, failing to complete his quota of four overs.

Injuries aside, the wily swing bowler from Meerut has been a huge asset for India across formats. Appointed as the vice-captain of the Men in Blue for the Sri Lanka series, the pace spearhead’s performances will be keenly watched out for by the selectors, keeping in mind the T20 World Cup. And he will be itching to have some successful and injury-free outings under his belt.

Suryakumar Yadav

After years of toil for Mumbai, his domestic side, and IPL franchise Mumbai Indians, Suryakumar Yadav made it impossible for the selectors to look past him and received a national call-up in the T20I series against England earlier this year. And the 30-year-old did not disappoint, scoring 89 runs in two innings at a fantastic strike rate of 185.41.

His hunger and steely determination is what has kept him going until now. Suryakumar’s ability to bat anywhere in the order makes him an attractive proposition for India, considering the T20 World Cup.

‘Sky’ is highly likely to get a fair number of opportunities against Sri Lanka, given the absence of a number of first-choice players, and would want to cement his position in the side by playing some memorable knocks.

Kuldeep Yadav

Once touted as one of India’s most promising spinners, Kuldeep Yadav’s career has been on a downward spiral since the 2019 World Cup, wherein he only picked up six wickets from seven matches at an average of 56.16. After the World Cup, he has picked up 12 wickets from 12 games at an average of 58.41.

The story in the game’s shortest format hasn’t been any different either. Having only featured for India four times in T20Is since 2019, he failed to live up to his potential, picking up just six wickets at 18.16 and an economy rate of 9.08.

While chinaman bowling is a rare art in itself, he also possesses some crafty variations and spins the ball enough to bamboozle the batsmen. Over the years, however, batsmen and analysts seem to have found a way to not only read him but dominate him. There’s another mystery spinner in the ranks (Varun Chakravarthy) who appears a promising candidate. Further, candidates like Krunal Pandya and Washington Sundar bring an all-round dimension to the table and might make Kuldeep’s inclusion in the side difficult. Meanwhile, Ravindra Jadeja and Yuzvendra Chahal are already first-choice spinners.

Now that opportunities may be limited for Kuldeep, he has everything to play for and the Sri Lanka series will be extremely crucial for him to prove his mettle.

Shikhar Dhawan

All eyes will be on skipper Dhawan, who, at 35, will be the most experienced among the Indians. While how he marshalls a young Indian side will be important, the Sri Lanka series will be even pertinent for the flamboyant southpaw to keep himself alive in the race for the opening slot for the T20 World Cup.

While Dhawan is a regular feature in ODI side, skipper Kohli had indicated during the T20I series against England that their preferred opening combination will be KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma.

Rahul, who is the only Indian in the top 10 batsmen along with Virat Kohli in the T20I rankings, has a better overall record (average, strike rate) than Shikhar Dhawan since 2020, albeit he has played more matches than his senior teammate, and despite going through a lean patch in the England series, where he registered scores of 1,0,0 in succession.

Both of them were in a terrific form in IPL 2021, giving selectors a real headache before the World Cup, although here too Rahul had better stats under his belt. He averaged 66.20 from seven matches, with a strike rate of 136.21 as compared to Dhawan, whose average and strike rate were 54.28 and 134.27 respectively.

Given India also have Kishan and Suryakumar, who can be versatile prospects in the battling order, Dhawan would have to come out all guns blazing against Sri Lanka to rise beyond his designated second-choice opener’s position.