IND vs SL: India on cusp of massive T20I record as Rohit & Co look to continue dominance

Coming off a 3-0 whitewash against the West Indies, an in-form Indian unit will look to continue their dominance and experiment with the team combination as they take on Sri Lanka in the build-up to this year’s T20 World Cup. India and Sri Lanka are scheduled to lock horns in the three-match T20 series, beginning Thursday.

Another clean sweep in the T20Is doesn’t seem a far-fetched outcome, given the fact that India have enough talent at its disposal. The absence of big names such as Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant as well as KL Rahul will give more chances to Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sanju Samson. Rohit himself will look to be among runs, having scored just 66 in three T20Is against the West Indies.

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The Indian team has been on a winning spree with nine consecutive wins in the T20Is. With a win in the series opener, India will become the second Test-playing nation to record 10 consecutive victories in the format and fourth overall. It would also be India’s best unbeaten run in the format.

Most successive wins in T20Is for India:

9 wins: Jan – Dec 2020

9 wins: Nov 2021 – Feb 2022 *

7 wins: Dec 2012 – Apr 2014

Suryakumar Yadav and Deepak Chahar have also been forced to miss the T20I series due to injuries and it remains to see whether Sanju Samson gets a chance to reinvent himself and be in consideration for this year’s T20 World Cup.

Earlier, Rohit heaped praise on Samson’s shot-making ability, adding that the Kerala wicketkeeper-batter could be a useful pick on the Australian wickets.

“Samson has got talent man, whenever you see him bat in the IPL, he has produced that innings where everyone goes over the moon watching that innings, he has got the skillset to succeed. That is the whole point about the sport, a lot of people have skill and talent, how you utilise it is the most critical part,” said Rohit in the pre-game presser on Wednesday.

The Indian skipper also touched upon the workload management and said he currently has no issues playing all three formats of the sport. “At the moment, I have no issues. I’m looking forward to playing all the games, the workload always depends on what happens thereafter. You take it day by day and understand what you need to do.

“And if there is an opportunity for you to take a break, you take a break and let someone else come in. You see how the other guy can fill in, and what sort of potential he has as well.”

The first T20I between India and Sri Lanka will be played on Thursday in Lucknow, while the second and third T20s will be played on Saturday and Sunday in Dharamsala.