India vs Sri Lanka: Hosts will change playing XI for second T20I
India won the first T20I of the three-match series against Sri Lanka, but they have little time to savour and enjoy that win.
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Yuzvendra Chahal place in second T20I in doubtThis is because the second series match will get underway on Thursday, January 5, and will present the team with a chance to seal the series.
However, even though India walked away with a win in the opener, there may be areas in the team that they may not look to make changes.
There may be a few enforced changes, and some feel they have no choice.
For one, Sanju Samson is an injury doubt going into the second T20I. The fact that the team management named Jitesh Sharma as his backup means there is little faith Samson will recover quickly.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">NEWS - Sanju Samson ruled out of the remainder of T20I series. <br><br>The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Jitesh Sharma as replacement for Sanju Samson.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JiteshSharma?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JiteshSharma</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/sanju?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#sanju</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/INDvsSL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#INDvsSL</a><br>More details here - <a href="https://t.co/ql3m9gKSHK">https://t.co/ql3m9gKSHK</a>… <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/INDvSL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#INDvSL</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/mastercardindia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mastercardindia</a> <a href="https://t.co/vL0Tb3H50f">pic.twitter.com/vL0Tb3H50f</a></p>— Abhishek paswan (@imabhishekpswan) <a href="https://twitter.com/imabhishekpswan/status/1610915146595024897?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 5, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
But it is unlikely that Jitesh will get a chance to make his debut so quickly, as India have another middle and lower middle order batsman Rahul Tripathi seated on the bench.
Should Tripathi get the nod, it will be a well-deserved one. After all, he has been a consistent performer in domestic and IPL cricket over the past few years.
Moreover, he has also been with the India squad for several series at this point and has yet to make his debut.
It seemed unlikely he would have gotten a game in this series if not for Samson’s sudden and unfortunate injury.
But there are other areas of concern, namely the top order and the spin bowling department. To an extent, none of India’s top-order batters, except for Ishan Kishan, covered themselves in glory recently.
But it would make no sense to discard either Kishan, Shubman Gill, or even Suryakumar Yadav from the playing XI for the second T20I.
Therefore, the only change that will be made for the time being is drafting in Tripathi for the injured Samson. Things could be more straightforward, however, in the spin bowling department.
India have one spinner in Washington Sundar on the bench and two underperforming spinners in Axar Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal in the playing XI.
Chahal has been struggling for quite some time and is lacking confidence, but it is also worth noting that there is no direct replacement for him right now.
Sundar is more of a bowling all-rounder and could slot in to replace Axar.
Benching Chahal for Sundar isn’t like for like as far as replacements go, but it could happen if the team is desperate for change. However, for now, it does seem likely that Chahal will retain his place.