KL Rahul to lead ODI side for India's tour of Sri Lanka, Rohit-Kohli to be rested

Team India's head coach Gautam Gambhir will kickstart his very first assignment during India's tour to Sri Lanka. The selection of the team will take place by the end of the week as India will be playing 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is in Sri Lanka. India Today has learnt that KL Rahul is likely to lead the ODI side against Sri Lanka. This development comes after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been rested from the tour after a gruelling T20 World Cup 2024.

Gambhir's first meeting with the Indian team's selection committee will take place later this week. It is understood that Gambhir is keen to pick two different captains for the two formats. For the ODI format, KL Rahul's name has come to the fore who has led India in the white-ball format earlier as well. For the T20Is, Hardik Pandya is likely to lead the Indian side, who was deputy to the World Cup winning captain Rohit Sharma.

Rohit-Kohli to be rested

A new era under the helm of Gambhir is set to begin as Rohit,



Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja have brought down curtains to their T20I careers for India. Alongside Rohit and Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah has also been rested for the Sri Lanka tour after his World-Cup winning performance for India in the USA and West Indies. The BCCI wanted the senior players to be well-rested before India's home season began in September.

KL to lead ODI side

"It is expected that in the absence of Rohit, Hardik and KL are the options to be given the responsibility of captain. Both have captained the team earlier," a top source in BCCI said.

"If Hardik is not available for the T20Is, you might see Suryakumar Yadav as captain in T20Is and Rahul in ODIs. But for now, it seems that Hardik and KL will lead the team," the source added.

The Sri Lanka tour will kick off from July 27 and the third T20I will be played on July 30th. The 3-match ODI series will start from 2nd August and will conclude on 7th August.