IND vs SL 1st T20I: Strongest India Playing 11 against Sri Lanka Prediction

This series might not hold that significance internationally, but this is very important for India and Indian Cricket as this is the debut series for the newly appointed head coach of India- Mr. Gautam Gambhir, and T20I skipper Surya Kumar Yadav.

India, the world T20 champions, are set to march on the T20I route without the services of former skipper Virat Kohli and World Cup-winning captain Rohit Sharma. With the new generation taking over, this will be their first test under the leadership of star batter Surya Kumar Yadav.

While looking at the other side of the ring, we have Sri Lanka. To be honest, the last one year or two have been absolutely unsettling for the Sri Lankan Cricket Team. They were pathetic during the ODI World Cup last year, Asia Cup 2024 before that, and also in the T20 World Cup. They never looked like a proper team in all those tournaments.

Let's discuss the Strongest India Playing 11 for the IND vs SL 1st T20I:

IND vs SL 1st T20I: India Playing 11

India went with some confusing selection strategy for this T20I series where they haven't selected many star players like Kuldeep Yadav, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Abhishek Sharma. First of all, let's take a look at the Indian squad:

Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Rishabh Pant(wk), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag, Khaleel Ahmed, Shivam Dube

Now, with this combination, it is clear that Gautam Gambhir and the present committee are trusting on Shubman-Yashasvi opening combo. There is no backup for them as well. They might be followed by Shivam Dube at number 3 as India did during the T20 World Cup 2024.

The skipper should bat number 4 as he is one of the most stable batsmen at this number for India in the past couple of years. Wicketkeeper batter Rishab Pant should be batting at number 5. The captain and Gautam Gambhir have to make a hard choice between Sanju Samson, Rinku Singh, and Riyan Parag and we think Rinku Singh is winning the race for 6.

Hardik Pandya will be certainly on the playing 11 and he will definitely bat much higher than number 7. Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi are going to make it to the starting 11 surely and Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh should be the final two on the list.

Probable India Playing 11

Shubman Gill
Yashasvi Jaiswal
Shivam Dube
Suryakumar Yadav
Rishabh Pant
Rinku Singh
Hardik Pandya
Axar Patel
Ravi Bishnoi
Mohammed Siraj
Arshdeep Singh

IND vs SL 1st T20I

READ: 3 Key Player battles to watch out for in IND vs SL 1st T20