Captain Rohit Sharma conceded team selection will be a little more difficult for him and head coach Rahul Dravid after taking plenty of positive results from Sunday’s 3-0 win over Sri Lanka in Dharamsala. Rohit heaped praise on Shreyas Iyer after the Kolkata Knight Riders captain put on a series-winning performance, hitting three consecutive fifties and finishing on 204 runs without being sacked once.
In the T20I series win over West Indies earlier this month, Suryakumar Yadav raised his hand with 107 runs. During that 3-0 win, captain Rohit stressed how difficult it was to keep a player like Iyer out of the starting XI, while India played middle-ranked opponents Suryakumar, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant.
While Iyer only had one chance in the series against the West Indies, he capitalized on the opportunities presented to him against Sri Lanka and became the second Indian bait after Kohli to score three consecutive fifties in a T20I series.
India vs. Sri Lanka, 3rd T20I: highlights
Iyer failed to hit 57 from just 28 balls in the 1st T20I, 74 failed to hit from just 44 balls in India’s stunning chase of 184 in the 2nd T20I and 73 not from just 45 bullets in the final on Sunday.
India also saw the return of Ravindra Jadeja, who made handy cameos while hitting higher in the 3-match streak while Venkatesh Iyer continued his good run. Sanju Samson, returning to the T20I side for the first time in 7 months, also raised his hand and hit a crucial 39 in the 2nd T20I.
“It’s going to be a big challenge but it’s nice to have guys in shape rather than out of shape. If the guys take the opportunity, like some of these guys have, you can go from strength to strength,” Rohit said when asked about the abundance issue with Iyer providing glimpses of peak form in the game’s shortest format .
ROHIT ABOUT PLAYERS’ CONFIDENCE TO PERFORM THEIR ROLE
With players unavailable due to injuries and rest periods, India tried out a handful of players during the T20I series against the West Indies and Sri Lanka and captain Rohit said he was pleased with how the players took chances.
“We kept that in mind – good for giving chances to some of these guys. We understand that we’ve held back at times, but it’s important to say to the lads that you don’t have to worry about your positions in the team. We want to fill in all the gaps that we have and that we have. We just want to move forward,” he added.
After India extended their winning streak in T20Is to 12 games, a joint world record, India will focus on Tests as Rohit Sharma is set to lead India in the upcoming 2-game series against Sri Lanka from March 4th.
