Mumbai, Jan 3 () Opener Shubman Gill and pacer Shivam Mavi were handed their India debut as Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka won the toss and elected to field in the opening T20I of the three-match series at the Wankhede Stadium, here on Tuesday.
Shanaka said the reason behind bowling first was that they expect the dew to play a big role in the second innings.
“Going to bowl first. The dew factor will be there later. We were doing well in T20Is except for the World Cup. We are following the routines. Got the same batting line-up as our last game,” Shanaka said at the toss.
India skipper Hardik Pandya was okay with the situation and said he wanted to bat first anyway. He said Mavi got his chance because pacer Arshdeep Singh was not available.
“We were going to bat first, to be honest,” Hardik said. “I want our team to be challenged. We have two debutants today Shivam Mavi and Shubman Gill. Arshdeep wasn’t available, so Mavi comes in his place.
Excited. Always been excited to play for the country, but obviously leading now makes it more special. Excited to see how this new bunch of guys express themselves,” Pandya said.
Playing XIs:
India: Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya (capt), Deepak Hooda, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Shivam Mavi, Umran Malik, Yuzvendra Chahal
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka (capt), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Dilshan Madushanka, Kasun Rajitha.
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