In an interaction, BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly recently confirmed India’s limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka in July. While Virat Kohli-led India will next be seen in the ICC World Test Championship final, versus New Zealand, in June and will stay put in the United Kingdom for the five Tests versus England, the white-ball regulars will take part in the tour of the island nation. “We have planned a white ball series for the senior men’s team during the month of July where they will play T20 Internationals and ODIs in Sri Lanka,” Ganguly told PTI.
He added, “Yes, it will be a team of white-ball specialists. It will be a different team.” With Rohit Sharma also being an integral part of the Test line-up since late 2019, the Men in Blue are set to have a new captain ahead of their limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka.
With Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, R Ashwin, etc. being out of the equation from captaining India, we look at 3 new options who can lead the national side for the first time ever in the upcoming Lanka tour:
1) Shikhar Dhawan: The left-hander was named as India’s vice-captain in the Asia Cup 2018 edition, with Rohit taking charge. However, Dhawan wasn’t favoured when India were without Rohit (the regular white-ball vice-captain) for the 2020/21 limited-overs tour of Australia. Nonetheless, the left-hander is in the form of his life, with 380 runs in 8 outings in now-indefinitely postponed IPL 14, and will be a strong candidate for leading India in Sri Lanka.
Moreover, Dhawan’s overall experience and ability to stay calm and positive at all times makes him a prime candidate to fill in instead of Kohli and Rohit. In addition, he has a good understanding of the white-ball formats.
Dhawan has represented India in 142 ODIs and 65 T20Is, with 5,977 and 1,673 runs respectively.
2) KL Rahul: As mentioned above, Dhawan wasn’t appointed as Kohli’s deputy in Rohit’s absence for the Australia ODIs and T20Is in late 2020. It was Rahul who was favoured over the left-hander. Having already led Punjab Kings (PBKS) in IPL 2020 and the first half of the 14th edition, the right-hander has sufficient experience to take charge on a temporary basis.
While Rahul is yet to prove himself as a captain, he has shown in the IPL that he isn’t deterred by the added responsibilities. He has looked very assured of his place in the limited-overs side recently and can be groomed for the top post in future.
3) Bhuvneshwar Kumar: With no Shreyas Iyer, due to injury, Bhuvneshwar can also be a good choice as a makeshift captain. The wily pacer has led Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Kane Williamson’s absence in IPL 2019 and did a fair job. Known for his calm and composed demeanour and ability to think ahead of the opposition batsmen, the 30-year-old speedster can prove to an ideal bowler’s captain.
He has a total of 183 scalps in white-ball formats and his experience in Lankan conditions can hold India in good stead.
