3 Indian Players Whose T20I Careers Might End After The Sri Lanka Tour

Indian team is set to lock horns with Sri Lanka in a bilateral ODI and T20I series in July 2021. Since many senior players are currently in England for the forthcoming 5-match Test series scheduled to commence in August, a different squad is will take part in the Sri Lanka tour. The squad will be led by Shikhar Dhawan and consists of many young players. Moreover, many uncapped players will also make their international debut with the Sri Lanka tour.

The three-match ODI series will kickstart with the first match on July 13. The 2nd and 3rd ODI will be played on July 16 and 18 respectively. The three-match T20I series will commence with the 1st game on July 21, with the 2nd and 3rd T20I on July 23 and 25 respectively.

Since many youngsters and uncapped players are highly expected to play the T20I matches against Sri Lanka, their good performances in the series can create a hurdle for other players’ careers in T20I cricket. Here we talk about 3 Indian players whose T20I careers might end after the Sri Lanka tour.

3 Indian Players Whose T20I Career Might End After The Sri Lanka Tour

Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey is the first Indian player whose T20I career might end after the Sri Lanka tour. The right-handed batsman made his T20I debut long back in 2015 but has been in and out of the team over the years. So far, the 31-year-old cricketer has played 33 T20I matches and scored 709 runs at an average of 44.31. He has a good batting average but has only managed to hit 3 fifties and owns a below-average strike rate of 126+.

Against Sri Lanka, the Indian squad comprises of few middle-order batsmen like Suryakumar Yadav, Nitish Rana, and Ishan Kishan. If these batsmen come up with a spectacular batting show in the series, then selectors might select them instead of Pandey in the future for India’s T20I series.

Sanju Samson

Sanju Samson made his international debut long back in 2015 with a T20I match against Zimbabwe. However, his inconsistent batting form has kept him out of the national team for a long time. The wicket-keeper batsman was given opportunities against New Zealand and Australia series last year but he could only score 64 runs in 5 games.

Samson is part of the Sri Lanka tour but Ishan Kishan is another wicket-keeper in the squad. The left-handed batsman impressed with a fifty in his international debut against England earlier this year. If Ishan Kishan comes up with similar outstanding performances on the Sri Lanka tour, Sanju Samson’s T20I career might end after the tour.

Moreover, if Sanju Samson fails to perform brilliantly against Sri Lanka, the right-handed batsman might not get more chances from selectors in the future.

Kuldeep Yadav

Just two years ago, Kuldeep Yadav was a star bowler for India with his magical spin attack. The left-arm spinner, who also played for India in ICC ODI World Cup 2019, has played 21 T20I matches so far and accounts for 39 wickets at an average of 13.76 and an economy of 7.11.

In the year 2018, he had a phenomenal bowling show in T20Is with 21 wickets in 9 matches. However, being out of the field for a long time in 2019 affected his form.

In the T20I series against Sri Lanka, Yadav has a great opportunity to make a comeback into the national side. However, if he cannot bowl up to the mark, his T20I career might get affected.

Moreover, spinners like Rahul Chahar and Varun Chakravarthy are also part of the Indian squad, who will also be seeking to showcase their best spin attack in the series. So Kuldeep Yadav faces a tough completion and his poor show in the Sri Lanka tour might end his T20I career.