Shreyas Iyer may get a call-up for the ODI series against Sri Lanka

The Indian skipper Virat Kohli might have ruled out reports of him not participating in the ODI series against Sri Lanka, which starts later this month. But it is very likely to see some fresh faces joining the squad in the island nation.

Shreyas Iyer recently scored an unbeaten 140 in the final of the three nation ‘A’ series in South Africa and he might well get a look in. If sources are to be believed then the selectors are thinking of rewarding the performers from the ‘A tours’.

Manish Pandey (307 runs in five games) and Shardul Thakur (nine wickets in four matches) are also in the contention for a berth in the upcoming series against the Lankans. Wicketkeeper batsman Rishabh Pant too might get an opportunity, but he hasn’t done extremely well in the recently concluded triangular series.

There is a high possibility that Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin might get some rest after their heavy work out in this series. Both the spinners have bowled more than 108 overs each and deserve a break before the important away tours. Former skipper MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Kedar Jadhav and Dhawal Kulkarni are currently training at the NCA.

Interestingly, the Indian skipper Kohli was not too amused when asked about being rested for the ODIs. “Who said I am not playing? I don’t know where this came from, but I have no problems in playing,” the India skipper said yesterday.

“We (team management and selectors) are going to sit down on selection soon and we certainly have plans in mind and combinations that we want to speak about. So as captain, I am in the thick of things and knowing what to speak to the committee about.”

India is currently playing Sri Lanka in the 3rd Test match at Kandy. The visitors have already won the series after winning the 2nd Test by an innings and 53 runs.