Samson injured his knee and remained in Mumbai for scans while Arshdeep Singh missed the first T20I.
After evading a belated attack by Sri Lankan all-rounders at his stadium on Tuesday, Hardik Pandya and his allies, along with the islanders, headed to Maharashtra for the 2nd T20I on Wednesday afternoon in his cricket home. I went on a bus trip to
The Indian team’s management is concerned about the suitability of its two key members to seal streaks.
Sanju Samson, who injured his knee in the series opener, will be a questionable starter. In his 13th over of the Sri Lanka chase, Samson was on his knees in a long game thanks to a strong Wankhede outfield. While the team traveled to Pune, Samson remained in Mumbai awaiting a scan report. Samson’s injury adds to India’s injury woes. Left-arm pacemaker Ashdeep Singh, who was set to lead the inexperienced pace attack, was absent from Tuesday’s match.
Arshdeep attended a big catch practice during the team’s warm-up, but he is said to be unselectable due to illness. Ashdeep headlined his U-19 Challenger Trophy ahead of the 2018 U-19 World Cup with his coach Rahul wearing his signature after visiting the city where he first impressed Dravid. will be keen to play the Yorker of With Arshdeep available, India would be in a dilemma as to whether to bench Harshal Patel or Shivam Mavi. Hershall played a decent game, but Mavi made the most of his first appearance by coming on as the third Indian bowler to pick four wickets in his T20I debut. Umran Malik, who fired a speed gun at 155 km/h and sacked Sri Lankan captain Dasun his Shanaka, is indispensable.
In Samson’s absence, local crowds will expect Rahul to make his Tripathi home long-awaited debut. Since his first call-up to India last year, Tripathi has not made an appearance although he has been part of four of his T20I and nine of his ODI squads. With Ruturaj Gaikwad also on the line, this will be the first time Gahunje has hosted an international competition with two hometown heroes on the team. The locals want them both in the game, but Samson’s injury clears the way for Tripati to challenge.
Whether it’s Samson or Tripathi, we need to make sure India doesn’t stutter in middleovers like it did on Tuesday. Lanka’s spin Thursday night’s series will definitely be sealed if he can overwhelm the duo, Wanindu Hasaranga and Mahesh Theekshana.
India Squad: Hardik Pandya (Capt.), Suryakumar Yadav (Vice-capt.), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Sanju Samson (wk), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, Mukesh Kumar, Rahul tripathi.
Sri Lanka Squad: Dasun Shanaka (capt.), Wanindu Hasaranga (Vice-capt.), Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama (wk), Kusal Mendis (wk), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Ashen Bandara, Maheesh Theekshana, Chamika Karunaratne, Dilshan Madushanka, Kasun Rajitha, Dunith Wellalage, Pramod Madushan, Lahiru Kumara, Nuwan Thushara.