KL Rahul to miss SL T20I series due to marriage; Hardik Pandya to lead Team India as Rohit Sharma absent

Swashbuckling Team India opener KL Rahul is set to miss the upcoming 3 match T20I series against Sri Lanka. The series commencing January 3 is going to feature all-rounder Hardik Pandya as the Men in Blue captain in the absence of KLR and Rohit Sharma. 

KL Rahul is unavailable due to his scheduled marriage to Sunil Shetty’s daughter Athiya Shetty, whom the batsman has been dating for a couple of years.

Notably, Rahul had requested for leave due to his personal work long ago and the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) had approved the Indian deputy’s request on December 1 as reported by Times of India. 

KL Rahul has been on a barren run ever since he made his international comeback around T20 WC 2022. Though his current leave was been granted over personal reasons, a good outing from his replacement against SL might be curtains for the opener as far as T20 internationals are concerned. 

IND vs SL T20Is: Hardik Pandya to lead as Rohit Sharma still unfit 

News 18 reports that first-choice skipper Rohit Sharma is yet to recover from the finger injury he had picked up during the 2nd Bangladesh ODI and if he doesn’t regain fitness in time, Hardik Pandya will be leading Team India against the Lankan Lions. 

“It does not look like Rohit Sharma’s finger will heal enough before the (Sri Lanka) T20Is and in that case, Hardik will lead the side”.

Hardik Pandya leading the side in the absence of Rohit Sharma is a part of the BCCI’s future planning as the all-rounder is expected to replace his former IPL skipper as the limited-overs captain for Team India soon. The stocks of Hardik Pandya have sky-rocketed due to his title-winning IPL 2022 as Gujarat skipper and follow-up performances in Indian colours.

WATCH VIDEO: Virat Kohli gets involved in an ugly spat with Bangladesh’s Taijul Islam after losing wicket

It is also reported that established names like Kohli and Bhuvneshwar might be rested for the 3 match series and a team full of T20-specialists might to be tested. The squad, however, is still to be picked. 

Interestingly, it is the sacked Chetan Sharma-led selection committee that has been assigned with the task to pick the T20I squad that will go up against Sri Lanka January 3 onwards. New selection committee has not been established at present.