Indian cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir wanted Tilak Varma for the T20I and ODI series against Sri Lanka but the youngster missed out due to injury, according to a report by Times of India. Tilak has been out of action since Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 due to hand injury. The report claimed that his absence was a big boost for Riyan Parag who was included in the squads for both formats. “TOI has learnt that Riyan Parag’s selection for both the white-ball squads for the Sri Lanka tour was helped by the fact that middle-order batsman Tilak Varma is currently injured,” the Times of India reported.

A source close to the developments also took Times of India that Parag is rated quite highly for his talent and his bowling and fielding skills also played a massive role in his selection for the Sri Lanka tour.

“Parag is highly talented and has improved his attitude towards the game by several notches. He’s now looking to stay at the wicket. To add to his value, he can bowl decently, and is a terrific fielder to boot. The selectors want to nurture him for the future,” the source told Times of India.

“He can bowl yorkers, slower balls and employ other variations at the death. That makes him a good option in white-ball cricket,” the source added.

The T20I series against Sri Lanka will be the first assignment for Gambhir as the Indian cricket team head coach. The team will be playing under the leadership of Suryakumar Yadav who piped Hardik Pandya in the race to succeed the retired Rohit Sharma as the Indian cricket team T20I captain.

India’s squad for T20I series against Sri Lanka:

Suryakumar Yadav (C), Ꮪhubman Gill (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohd. Siraj.

India’s squad for ODI series against Sri Lanka:

Rohit Sharma (C), Ꮪhubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.