The Team India squad announcement for the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka was a bitter-sweet moment for Suryakumar Yadav. While the attacking batter would’ve been jubilant to get the team’s captaincy in T20Is, he was also dropped from the ODI squad, with the selectors and new head coach Gautam Gambhir making their stance clear. Suryakumar was a part of India’s ODI World Cup squad in 2023 but failed to repay the trust that selectors showed in him. Hence, the 360-degree batter was snubbed for a spot in the Indian team for the ODIs in the island nation.

Suryakumar might be considered the finest T20 batter in the world, but the same can’t be said about his 50-over game. In the 37 ODI matches he has played, the Mumbai batter averages just 25.76. His ability to play the patient game and gradually increase the pace of scoring runs has been doubted by many.

With just 6 ODIs to be played before the ICC Champions Trophy next year, the selectors want to give other players a chance. According to the Indian Express, the name of Sunrisers Hyderabad all-rounder Nitish Reddy is reportedly being looked upon, especially because of the 3-dimensional skillset he brings to the table. Hardik Pandya remains India’s premier seam-bowling all-rounder in white-ball cricket but he isn’t a part of the ODI series against the Lankans. But, he could return in future assignments. 

Gautam Gambhir’s ‘Data-Driven’ Approach

Like India’s ODI captain Rohit Sharma, even head coach Gautam Gambhir is known to rely on data before making selection decisions. In this aspect, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar have emerged as tempting options in white-ball cricket. Hence, Ravindra Jadeja wasn’t picked. 

For the Sri Lanka series, however, Riyan Parag is one player who could get a run-in. Parag isn’t just a handy batter down the order but also has the ability to chip in with a few overs. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Parag’s consistent performances speak for his skills as an all-rounder has seen him emerge as one of the most consistent performers in the last couple of seasons.

The Assam star, however, might not be the first-choice option, with more experienced stars like Axar and Sundar also part of the squad.

India’s ODI Squad vs Sri Lanka: Rohit Sharma (capt), Ꮪhubman Gill (vice-capt), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.