The tour of Sri Lanka comes for the Indian team immediately following the West Indies tour. The West Indies tour has seemed a breeze for the team, barring the one bizarre defeat chasing less than 200. The Indians are looking to build up some steam before Australia’s visit in October. Here are some of the reason why the upcoming tour to the island nation holds importance for Indian cricket:
1. Testing out new partnerships:
The upcoming tour will allow Virat Kohli to experiment with his playing eleven, and test out new talent such as Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant and other such youngsters. The existing partnerships are all looking solid, and this is a perfect chance to look for ideal backups in all positions.
2. India will play all three formats of the game
Team India will play 3 Test, 5 ODIs and 2 T20Is during their long tour of India. It will be a great spectacle for Indian fans as they will get to see all the players in action. From Test specialist like Cheteshwar Pujara to limited-overs cricket specialists like Suresh Raina. It will also allow the selectors to look at a wide range of players to chose from for future tours.
3. The inclusion of Cheteshwar Pujara and Murali Vijay:
The upcoming test series holds great importance for Murali Vijay and in particular, Cheteshwar Pujara, who has been likened to Rahul Dravid for his brick-walling capabilities. Both have not been in the Indian team fray for a while now and will be looking to come back strong and make an impression, given the chance.
4. The Return of KL Rahul:
KL Rahul had started to develop into one of the new generation’s finest batsmen, and was hitting a rich vein of form before his injury stopped his progress in its tracks. He will be waiting with baited breath for his recovery, and will be looking forward to get back into the Indian team. He has shown versatility, and an ability to float in the batting order, while his camaraderie with Virat Kohli from their RCB time will only serve to help his case.
5. India’s first foreign test tour in a long time:
India have played somewhere around 15 tests consecutively at home over the past year or so, and have dominated in most occasions. The Sri Lanka series will be India’s first foreign test series in a while, and although the conditions on the sub-continent don’t vary too much among neigbouring countries, playing a series on foreign soil after a while will serve as a mental test for the young squad.
