The Kohli brigade is back on the field for their first-ever international game of this decade as they host Sri Lanka in the first T20I of the 3-match series tonight at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati. The men-in-blue get their main man – Jasprit Bumrah – back in the side who has been struggling with a back stress fracture for four months.

He is that precious diamond in this Indian set-up, which had been wrapped in cotton wool during the rehabilitation period.

While Bumrah predictably grabs more eyeballs, the series is also important for Shikhar Dhawan, making a comeback into the team post knee injury. He will also look to make an impact in the absence of rested vice-captain Rohit Sharma with KL Rahul in red-hot form at the other end.

Toss Update:

Indian skipper Virat Kohli has won the toss and opted to bowl first. Players who are out -  Manish Pandey, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sanju Samson, Ravindra Jadeja.

"We haven't played here in a while. The last time we played here, we chased well. The game we played prior to that against Australia, they chased well too. The track does play differently in the second half as compared to the first part. (On dew already in) It's a good thing actually, there isn't too much of a difference in conditions, except that the track settles down better later on with the wet ball. Last year was outstanding for us in two formats, T20s not so much. Good thing though is that we have a World Cup coming up and we'll be taking things more seriously," said Kohli at the toss.

"Happy to bat first. Don't think the track will change too much. We have prepared well and will want to put it into performances. Need to put runs on the board and then take it from there. We have brought 16 players as we need to finetune our combination for the World Cup. Three seamers and two spinners for us. Need five genuine bowlers to put pressure on India," said Sri Lanka skipper Lasith Malinga at the toss.

Here are the Playing XIs:

India: Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Virat Kohli(c), Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(w), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini, Jasprit Bumrah

Sri Lanka: Danushka Gunathilaka, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Perera(w), Oshada Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka, Isuru Udana, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lahiru Kumara, Lasith Malinga(c)