India vs Sri Lanka 1st ODI will be played on July 18, Sunday at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. In the absence of senior players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, the Indian cricket team led by senior opener Shikhar Dhawan would like to start India's tour of Sri Lanka with a win.
Young talented players like Suryakumar Yadav, Prithvi Shaw, Chetan Sakariya will have a golden opportunity to showcase their talent in this series.
It will be interesting to see which young players head coach Rahul Dravid and captain Dhawan give a chance in the India vs Sri Lanka 1st ODI. Skipper Dhawan can likely pick two specialist spinners and one all-rounder spin bowler on Sri Lankan pitches which are considered to be spin-friendly.
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It will be interesting to see who among Prithvi Shaw, Devdutt Padikkal and Rituraj Gaikwad will open the innings with Dhawan. Shaw, who is in great batting form at the moment, has also opened with Dhawan while playing for Delhi Capitals in the IPL. In such a situation, Padikkal and Gaikwad may have to wait for their turn.
Suryakumar Yadav will most likely be seen batting at number three. Sanju Samson can also make his debut in the first match of the ODI series. The Kerala batsman, who can be seen batting at number four, has a lot of experience and will be preferred over Ishan Kishan at least in ODIs. There is every possibility of senior batsman Manish Pandey playing at number five.
Shikhar Dhawan can rely on the pair of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal as spinners. In the fast bowling, Deepak Chahar can be seen with the vice-captain Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Navdeep Saini and Chetan Sakaria may have to wait for now.
India Probable Playing XI: Shikhar Dhawan (Captain), Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar