India will kick start their new year and home series with a 3 T20I series against Sri Lanka, followed by 3 ODIs, before hosting New Zealand for 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is, prior to the much-awaited Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.
As the Indian team enter a new year, the BCCI has decided to make some big, bold decisions. Among which is also reported to be that KL Rahul is getting the sack from the T20I team!
Yes, Insidesport has reported that opener KL Rahul will be dropped from the T20I side following his disappointing returns with the bat this year.
Fans have been asking the BCCI for the past few months to drop KL Rahul.
He had a dismal year as a batsman, and his struggles, in particular after his abdominal hernia surgery were visible and distressing. In 16 T20I in 2022, KL Rahul averaged at a lowly strike rate of 126. Worryingly, KL Rahul couldn’t step up against strong opposition in big tournaments and in crucial matches.
In three matches against Pakistan – in Asia Cup and T20 WC – Rahul registered scores of 0, 28, and 4. In T20 WC, against South Africa and England (in semi-final), he had scores of 9 and 5.
Rohit Sharma is nursing his thumb injury that he suffered in Bangladesh, so he will miss out on the Sri Lanka T20Is. It has also been learned that the BCCI has decided to hand the T20I full-time captaincy to Hardik Pandya, starting from the series vs Sri Lanka the squad for which will be named on Tuesday.
“The old committee will probably select the Sri Lanka white ball squad. As of now, it doesn’t look like Rohit Sharma’s finger will heal enough before the T20Is and in that case, Hardik will lead the side. As far as KL Rahul is concerned, his T20I days seem to be numbered.” said a BCCI source told Insidesport.
Here’s the schedule of IND vs SL T20I series
India vs Sri Lanka 1st T20I: January 3rd in Mumbai
India vs Sri Lanka 2nd T20I: January 5th in Pune
India vs Sri Lanka 3rd T20I: January 7th in Rajkot
Schedule of IND vs SL ODI series:
India vs Sri Lanka 1st ODI: January 10th in Guwahati
India vs Sri Lanka 2nd ODI: January 12th in Kolkata
India vs Sri Lanka 3rd ODI: January 15th in Thiruvananthapuram
