Kohli rested for Sri Lanka ODI series; Rohit to lead

The first ODI is scheduled in Dharamshala on 10 December.

Siddharth Kaul has been included as a backup pacer.

India’s death over specialist Jasprit Bumrah was an automatic choice in the squad. His ability to land Yorkers and slower balls will be crucial to contain the batsman.

Hardik Pandya returns to the Indian squad after giving Test series a miss to work on his fitness.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar returns to the 15-member squad after missing the Test series to attend his wedding.

Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep yadav will form a strong spin attack for India.

As expected, MS Dhoni will keep wickets for India. The former captain will have an added responsibility to strengthen the middle-order.

Manish Pandey will be the main stay in the middle order

Rohit Sharma will partner Dhawan right at the top.

Rahane is expected to take Virat’s No.3 spot

But will face stiff competition from Shreyas Iyer, who has been included in the squad to replace Virat Kohli

And, he will be joined by Dinesh Karthik, who has retained his place for the three-match ODI series.

Kedar Jadhav has been included in the squad mainly because of utility. The 32-year-old can dawn the gloves and also do a job with the ball when required

Rohit carries tremendous experience under his belt having led IPL franchise Mumbai Indians to three IPL titles.

Shikhar Dhawan will lead the Indian batting line up, having performed exceptionally well recent months.

The 30-year-old will lead a 15-member squad

Following India’s victory, the selection committee met on Monday to announce the squad for limited-over series against Sri Lanka.

Rohit Sharma will lead the Indian side in Kohli’s absence in the limited-over series.

The MSK Prasad-led panel decided to rest Indian skipper Virat Kohli and he is set to miss three ODI’s and as many T20s against the Asian counterparts.

India registered their biggest ever Test match victory by decimating Sri Lanka by an innings and 239 runs in the second match of three-match series to go 1-0 up.