Sri Lanka vs India: 5 Selection dilemmas for India in the limited-overs series

It would be safe to say that India is arguably one of the best teams in the world right now. They have almost all their bases covered. So much so that several players who have consistently performed well are unable to seal a spot in India’s playing XI.

You know how good the “Men In Blue” are when they have sent a second-string side to play a series against Sri Lanka and even that team looks formidable. As India’s Test specialists are in England, the Indian selectors have picked a lot of new faces in the limited-overs squad which is all set to take on Sri Lanka this month. However, there is going to be a lot of headache with respect to India’s playing XI.

This is because the squad consists of talented cricketers and all of them would feel that they have done enough to feature in the XI. However, all the members in the squad cannot play and hence, India would have a few selection dilemmas ahead of the ODI and T20I series against the island nation. 

Here are 5 selection dilemmas for India in the limited-overs series

5) Navdeep Saini or Chetan Sakariya?

One of the major headaches for India ahead of the Sri Lanka series has to be their third pacer. While Deepak Chahar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar look all set to start in the XI, who is going to accompany them? Saini or Sakariya? It is going to be really hard to choose one between the two.

Saini made his international debut in 2019 and has been fairly decent in the shorter formats of the game. The RCB pacer has picked 13 wickets in 9 T20I games at a bowling average and strike rate of 18.08 and 15.15 respectively. He has also picked 6 wickets in 7 ODI games at a bowling average and strike rate of 75.67 and 6.98 respectively.

While Sakariya hasn’t made his international debut just yet, he impressed one and all in the first half of IPL 2021. As Saini had a tough time in the ODI and T20I series against Australia in 2020, India’s management might want to try another pacer in his place. It will be interesting to see who is selected as the third pacer in the XI.