Pakistan’s former captain Salman Butt has lauded India’s bench strength after the All India Selection Committee picked the ODI and T20I squad for the tour of Sri Lanka. Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have been named as the team’s captain and vice-captain respectively.
As expected the Indian selectors have picked the young guns. Players like Chetan Sakariya, Devdutt Padikkal, K Gowtham, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Nitish Rana have received their maiden call-up after impressing in the IPL and the domestic circuit.
Butt added that the young Indian players have come through the ranks in the recent past and they have been playing at the top of their game
“This Indian team is a young powerhouse. If you look at their captain, he is one of the top Indian players of recent times and has played all formats. We saw Prithvi Shaw’s brilliant record in the IPL. Then they have Devdutt Paddikkal, who scored a hundred in the IPL, and Ruturaj Gaikwad, who played at a strike-rate of 180 without hitting a single six. They also have Ishan Kishan and Saju Samson, two sensational wicketkeeper-batsmen,” Salman Butt said on his YouTube Channel.
The Indian team has got a potent bench strength and the same is palpable in the team’s performance. The young players have grabbed their opportunity with both hands and they have taken the top level like duck to water. There is a lot of talent and the coaches have done a fine job in guiding them on the right track.
“There are two leg-spinners, one left-arm spinner, one left-arm wrist spinner in Kuldeep Yadav. There is a good bowling attack two in the pace department with the experience of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. So there is every kind of variety that you need. Their experience of having played domestic and India A cricket has been incredible. They will go to Sri Lanka as favorites.”
India will play the first ODI against Sri Lanka at R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium on 13th July.
India’s squad: Shikhar Dhawan (Captain), Prithvi Shaw, Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suryakumar Yadav, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Rana, Ishan Kishan (Wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (Wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar, K Gowtham, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Vice-captain), Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini, Chetan Sakariya
