3 Indian players who might have to sit out the entire Sri Lanka T20I series on bench

The Men in Blue are gearing up for 3 match T20I series against Sri Lanka at home from January 3^rd. The T20I series will be followed by a three-match ODI series later. The Indian squad announced for the T20I series is quite young with the veterans like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja among those to be given a rest.

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The Indian selectors have shown a good amount of confidence in young players going into this series. However, not all could be given a match as there are just too few games to experiment with. Let’s look at the three players from India’s squad for the Sri Lanka T20I series who would have to sit on the bench for the entirety of the series.

India squad for the T20I series against Sri Lanka: Hardik Pandya (captain), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (vice-captain), Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, Mukesh Kumar

Rahul Tripathi

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Rahul Tripathi (Image source: Twitter)

Rahul Tripathi has been knocking on the doors for a while now. The 31-year-old has been doing immensely well in the domestic circuit and also the Indian T20 League. The right-hand batter however could have to make do with sitting on the bench as Ishan Kishan seems like the frontrunner for the opening slot.

A middle order of Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, and Sanju Samson also leaves no place for the Ranchi-born batter.

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Mukesh Kumar

Mukesh Kumar (Image source: Twitter)

The 29-year-old bowler was a surprising addition to the Indian squad. He has played just 23 T20 matches in which he has taken 25 wickets at an impressive economy of 7.20. He however lacks the experience of the Indian T20 League or a higher platform.

With Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, and Harshal Patel in the mix, Kumar would find a starting place hard to come by and could have to sit on the bench for the entirety of the series.

Shivam Mavi

Shivam Mavi (Image source: Twitter)

The 24-year-old bowler broke through with an immense performance in the under-19 World Cup. The medium pacer was soon grabbed by the Kolkata franchise in the Indian T20 League and since then show incremental improvement in his game.

With 47 wickets in 11 First Class matches, Mavi has shown glimpses of his talents and has found a place in the squad. Mavi however could suffer the same conundrum as the others before him on the list and would have to give a slot to the more experienced campaigners from the Sri Lanka series.