Lanka tour, with an eye to the future
MUMBAI: In the team picked for the limited overs series in Sri Lanka, the selectors have done a straightforward job of rewarding Indian Premier League performances.
Save for a few limited overs specialists like Shikhar Dhawan—captaining India for the first time—vice-captain Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik
Pandya and Yuzvendra Chahal, most players on the roster have got their opportunity because many of the top players will be on the Test tour of England.
Yet, the squad for Sri Lanka is full of exciting players, pointing to India’s great depth in cricket talent.
For the 21-year-old Prithvi Shaw, 20-year-old Devdutt Padikkal, 24-year-old Ruturaj Gaikwad and 22-year-old Ishan Kishan, it’s not just an opportunity for showcasing their skills— they will go on tour with the confidence that they are longterm prospects, chance to develop on their immense potential.
As India captain Virat Kohli mentioned on the eve of the England tour, this is an effort to brood in a new generation.
“If you look at our transition, it was really smooth because we are all committed to keeping Indian cricket on top. In Test cricket we have been No.1 for a few years in a row now. Now you see youngsters are coming into the team and another transition is taking place. This is an ongoing process to keep the standard of Indian cricket really high,” Kohli said. “We have done our duty with absolute commitment and now our responsibility is to instil the same passion and commitment in the next lot of players, so that we remain on top for more years to come.”
For Padikkal and Gaikwad this is a maiden call up. Shaw and Kishan have got a taste of international cricket already— Shaw in Tests and Kishan in limited overs.padikkal hasn’t put a foot wrong since he made his senior team debut for Karnataka in 2018. The left-handed opener has been their stand-out performer in all three formats. In the IPL, for Royal Challengers Bangalore, he started with 400plus runs last season. After recovering from Covid-19 this season, he made his maiden IPL hundred.