Sri Lanka vs India: Sanath Jayasuriya picks Sri Lanka's XI for the first T20I, leaves out Isuru Udana

With the three-match ODI series done and dusted, the attention now shifts to the shortest format between Sri Lanka and India starting on Sunday. While the Men in Blue pocketed the series with a 2-1 margin, the Lankan Lions can take solace from the fact that they ran India close in the last two ODIs and that augurs well for the team heading into the three T20Is.

While India made quite a few changes in the third ODI, handing five debuts to the youngsters, Sri Lanka did not tinker much with their playing XI. With three matches back-to-back, the home team might well fancy their chances of making a few changes during the T20I series.

Former Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya was asked to name his team for the first T20 match by Cricwire and the southpaw avoided making wholesale changes to the lineup and kept the core team intact from the ODIs. Jayasuriya said he would like to see Wanidu Hasaranga back in the team in place of Ramesh Mendis. He further pointed out to include Ashen Bandara in the first T20I and also wishes to see in-form batter Charith Asalanka in the playing XI.

Sanath Jayasuriya feels Isuru Udana might miss out

Apart from the possible inclusion of few players, the southpaw feels that fast bowler Isuru Udana might miss the bus during the T20 series. The 52-year-old feels the veteran bowler is low on confidence and the management may resort to not playing him. While the Lankan bowling has been pretty disciplined, Udana not contributing much with the ball has impacted the bowling for the team.

Meanwhile, India is on a high after winning the ODI series. Although the Men in Blue might have felt a tad sad to not win the series by a margin of 3-0, they will still take the victory nonetheless. With this being the last international T20 series before the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, the visitors will be hoping to perform well in the three games.

Sanath’s playing XI: Avishaka Fernando, Minod Bhanuka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka/Ashen Bandara, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Dusmantha Chameera, Akila Dhananjaya, Praveen Jayawickrama.