Gautam Gambhir to announce India squad selection details in first press conference as head coach, joined by Ajit Agarkar
PTC News Desk: For his first media appearance since taking over as the Indian men’s cricket team’s new head coach, Gautam Gambhir is due to speak. The press conference is scheduled for Monday at 10 am IST, one day prior to the Indian team’s departure for the T20I series, which kicks off on July 27.
Gambhir was named head coach by the BCCI earlier this month, following considerable conjecture over the previous two months. Rahul Dravid had resigned from the position after leading India to the T20 World Cup championship in Barbados in June. The three T20Is and as many ODIs that make up the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka will be Gambhir’s maiden assignment.
The Twenty20 International leg is scheduled for July 27–30 at Pallekele. Suryakumar Yadav, who defeated Hardik Pandya to take over as captain following Rohit Sharma’s withdrawal from the format last month, will head the revamped Indian team. On the other side, India’s ICC Champions Trophy preparations will begin with the ODI leg, which is scheduled to take place in Colombo from August 3 to August 7.
On Monday, July 22, the Suryakumar-led Indian T20I team will depart Mumbai for Sri Lanka. Prior to Gambhir’s departure, the BCCI will formally introduce him as the new head coach. He will then speak to the media with Ajit Agarkar, the head of the selection committee, and together they will discuss the specifics of the squad selection for the two series as well as their potential plans for the Champions Trophy the following year.
The senior Indian batsmen, Rohit, Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah, were picked for the one-day series, with the former captaining the team once again, amid rumors that they were planning to skip the ODIs in an effort to prolong their sabbatical from cricket.
For the first time since his horrific automobile accident in December 2022, Rishabh Pant will play in the ODIs. Additionally, Shreyas Iyer, who was left off of the BCCI central contract, has been included in the team.
The Indian team for the Sri Lankan tour is:
T20Is: Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohd. Siraj, Shubman Gill (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK).
ODIs: Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Siraj, Mohd. Sharma, Shubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, and Washington Sundar.