Rohit Sharma to Lead India in ODI Series Against Sri Lanka; Gambhir's Coaching Debut

Rohit Sharma will lead Team India in the upcoming ODI series against Sri Lanka, with Gautam Gambhir making his debut as head coach. The squad includes comebacks from Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul. Shreyas Iyer also makes the cut after a stellar IPL season. The series starts on July 27.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced that Rohit Sharma will captain the Indian team for the upcoming One Day International (ODI) series against Sri Lanka. The announcement, made on Thursday, marked the return of Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul to the squad.

Shreyas Iyer, despite being left out of the BCCI central contract list, has also been named in the ODI squad. Iyer recently led the Kolkata Knight Riders to victory in the 2024 Indian Premier League under the mentorship of Gautam Gambhir, who will make his debut as head coach of Team India. Notably, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who have retired from T20 cricket, will be seen playing together in this 50-over series.

The selection committee has also named Shubman Gill as Sharma's deputy for the three-match series. Riyan Parag and Harshit Rana have received their first call-ups to the national ODI team. India’s tour of Sri Lanka will kick off on July 27 with a three-match T20I series, followed by the ODI series starting on August 2.

The T20I matches will be held at the Pallekele International Stadium, while the R. Premadasa Stadium will host the ODIs on August 2, 4, and 7. Both squads come with new head coaches; Sanath Jayasuriya has been appointed as the interim head coach for Sri Lanka, while Gautam Gambhir takes on his first assignment as head coach for India, succeeding Rahul Dravid.

India's last bilateral white-ball series in Sri Lanka took place in July 2021, where they won the ODI series 2-1 under the coaching of Dravid. The ODI squad includes Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, and Harshit Rana.