BCCI president Sourav Ganguly confirmed that the Indian national team will be heading to Sri Lanka for a limited-overs tour in July. Ganguly confirmed that only the white-ball specialists will travel to Sri Lanka. Another Indian side, which will be led by Virat Kohli, will be busy with the WTC final and five Tests against England from June to September.

Captaincy candidate for the Sri Lanka ODI

Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan was named India’s vice-captain when Rohit Sharma guided the team in the Asia Cup 2018 edition. Dhawan is experiencing a purple patch in his career with strong back-to-back performances. He scored a total of 380 runs in 8 VIVO IPL 2021 games. Dhawan is an experienced player who has played a total of 142 ODIs and 65 T20Is for India. He can prove to be the right candidate to lead the team.

KL Rahul

KL Rahul was named India’s vice-captain in the absence of Rohit Sharma during their tour of Australia in 2020. KL Rahul also captains the IPL side Punjab Kings. Rahul is tipped to be the future captain of Indian cricket and taking charge against Sri Lanka can be a stepping stone in his captaincy career.

(It is to be noted that Rahul has been named in India’s Test squad for WTC final, England series under ‘subject to fitness’. He might be sent to Sri Lanka if fit and not in consideration for selection in the red-ball assignments).

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

The cool and calm Indian bowler turned out to be a decent captain for IPL side SRH in IPL 2019. Bhuvi is well organized and he can lead the team with the right composer. He has featured in a total of 183 games for India in white-ball format and his experience in the Sri Lankan condition can be used.